Our Most Valuable Customer
by ClarkyDee
Summary: Set after 'The Tales of Ba Sing Se': Zuko can't stop thinking about his date with Jin. The only problem is he has absolutely no idea how to deal with girls and dating with only his hopeless romantic of an uncle to guide him. Meanwhile, Jin is unsure about how to proceed, thinking that 'Lee' must be hung up on some other girl from before he came to the city as a refugee. ZukoxJin.
1. Chapter 1

"She is NOT my girlfriend!" Zuko blurted out without thinking. His fists pounded their table and the waiter stood agast as the entire restaurant fell silent and the other patrons stopped to watch the source of the commotion. Great, Zuko thought, as if this could be any more awkward! Girlfriend? he sulked, he barely knew this girl. The waiter excused himself with a nervous grin and the patrons, disappointed that they wouldn't be treated to a show, went back to their meals.

Jin watched the young man before her, peering over her bowl as she slurped up the spicy noodles within. He turned to look at her, lacing his fingers as he rested this hands on the table. A look of surprise played out over his features, his eyes going wide.

"You have...quite an appetite for a girl," he said nervously, his voice uneven. He fiddled his thumbs awkwardly and Jin's face fell.

"Umm...thanks?" she half said, half asked the young man before her. An uncomfortable silence filled the air between the duo, before Jin continued. "So, Lee, where were you and your uncle living before you came here?" That caused the young man to flinch, he looked down so that his eyes wouldn't meet Jin's. She wondered what that was about before cursing herself. Many of the refugees that she had met in the city didn't want to talk about their old, now lost, lives. Now he probably feels terrible, she thought worriedly. She was about to tell him to forget about it when he spoke up.

"Umm...well," Zuko paused before continuing, "we've been travelling around for a long time." He had to block out the thoughts of his disgraceful pursuit of the Avatar that threatened to bubble up and put him in a bad temper. He didn't want to snap at the girl, it wasn't as if she had known just how humiliating the last few months of his life had been.

"Oh. Why were you travelling so much?" she asked, not wanting to push her luck but curious and hopeful that she could get the young man to open up a bit.

"We were…" Zuko blurted it out without thinking, "uh, part of this travelling circus." He risked meeting Jin's eyes to see that they were bright and her face was a mask of excitement.

"Really? What did you do?" she began, latching onto the thread of conversation, "Wait, lemme guess," she thought for a moment before pointing animatedly at him, "You juggled!"

"Yes, I juggled," Zuko sat back and folded his arms. He hoped that she would drop the subject, now that he had satisfied her curiosity before she reached around the table and gathered up a few items.

"I've always wanted to learn how to juggle," she said expectantly, holding out the small utensils and sauce pots that she had gathered up, offering them to Zuko. "Can you show me something?"

Zuko's heart sank at that. He had never juggled in his life! What kind of stupid lie was that? he chided himself, why didn't he tell her he was a moose/lion tamer? It wasn't as if she could have just plucked one of those out of the air for a demonstration! He could feel himself getting annoyed but one look at Jin's uplifted face and it all melted away. She watched him intently with her big hazel eyes and he found himself reaching out and taking the assorted objects in his hands. Really, how hard could juggling be? he thought nervously, circus people could do it and he was a prince! He grabbed the items in his hands and looked at them skeptically. Hm, he thought, he supposed he should just go for it. He tossed each item into the air one by one with one hand before raising his other hand to grab at them. It was a disaster. He failed to catch a single one and a pot of peanut sauce opened on his head, leaving a clump of the stuff on top of his head and on his forehead.

Zuko felt his cheeks heat up from the embarrassment of his failure but when he looked at Jin, she simply looked back with a patient smile. He was taken aback, all his life he had been criticized for even the smallest of mistakes, for the slightest show of weakness, by his father, by his sister, by the courtiers that had always seemed to be a presence in his life at the palace. But not her. What was her game? he wondered, was she saving her mockery for a more opportune time?

"I haven't practiced for a while," he said, unsure of how to proceed. He reached up and wiped the clumps of peanut sauce from his short, shaggy, black hair and off his forehead.

"It's alright," Jin said, thinking for a moment before continuing, "Hey, I want to show you one of my favorite places in the city."

"Oh," Zuko said as Jin stood up, "Okay." He pulled out some coins from his pocket and placed them on the table for the meal.

"Oh," Jin said with surprise, reaching into her own pocket and pulling out a handful of coins as well, "I asked you out, remember? That means dinner is on me," she smiled broadly at him which only made Zuko feel more awkward. Uncle Iroh had told him that men usually pay for the meal on dates and since Zuko had never been on a date before, he had trusted his uncle's advice. Great! he thought, now he looked like an idiot, a presumptuous idiot.

"Thanks," he mumbled awkwardly, finding it difficult to meet Jin's gaze as he scooped up the coins from the table and put them back in his pocket.

"It's okay," she said, then hesitating a moment before she continued, "you can buy next time?" There was a definite question in her voice and Zuko tensed up. Next time, he thought, yeah right. Like she would want to spend any more time in his miserable company than she had to.

"Right," he said, more nervous than he intended, "next time." He offered her a weak smile which got a reaction from her in the form of a warm smile back. Then she did something that really surprised him. She reached over the table and took one of his hands in hers, leading him to his feet. Zuko gulped. Her fingers were small and delicate but her skin was tough and her grip was firmer than he would have thought. She must work with her hands, Zuko thought through the haze that was filling his head. He hand never held hands with a girl before but he had always assumed that they were supposed to have soft skin, dainty and delicate like the women courtiers he had met when he was a boy at the Fire Nation Palace. He felt a warm feeling in his chest and it was suddenly very hot despite the cool night air of Ba Sing Se. Was he sweating? he thought with shock, what kind of Fire Nation Prince sweats in the heat?

"So, you…" he began, his voice uneven, "must work with you hands." Jin's face fell instantly and Zuko felt a lump forming in his throat as she looked away dejectedly.

"My mother is a seamstress," Jin said self-consciously, pulling her hand away from Zuko's, "and I work with her...sorry."

Zuko felt his heart drop down into his stomach. Why had he said that? he thought angrily, of course that's just what every girl wants to hear! Nice mannish hands you have there! his voice spoke up in his head. Oh thank you Lee! Jin's voice answered. He felt his face get even hotter and he knew he was blushing.

"No, I mean," he stammered out awkwardly, not really knowing what to say to make things better, "you have nice hands. They're strong." Jin looked up at him, unsure of where he was going with this. At least she was looking again, Zuko thought with relief. "I like them. Well, that one. Cause it's the only one I've held." She raised an eyebrow at that. "I mean, of yours. But I'm sure your other hand is nice too." He finished through gritted teeth, practically spitting out the whole awkward speech in one breath.

"It's okay," she said finally, her mouth settling into a knowing grin. She held out her hand to the young man before her and he took it. "Now come on, the place isn't far!" She turned and led him out into the dark street.

They walked down a deserted street, Jin leading Zuko by the hand and talking the whole way.

"I'm so excited for you to see the Firelight Fountain," she said breathlessly. Zuko barely heard her. His entire attention was focused on her hand in his. He noticed he was breathing shallowly but he chalked it up to the fast pace that they were walking. He felt a tenuous connection to this girl through her hand in his and he felt something confusing and exciting and unfamiliar in his chest. What was happening to him? he wondered as she led him into an open area, at the center of which was a large fountain surrounded by a circle of candle posts. The candles were all dark.

"I can't believe it!" Jin stopped and Zuko nearly bumped into her. The disappointment in her voice made Zuko feel terrible. "They aren't lit," her voice sounded defeated and he realised that it was the first negative tone he had ever heard in her voice. He didn't like it one bit. He turned to look at Jin and then to the darkened fountain. He had an idea. It wasn't a smart idea or a good idea but he just couldn't stand to see her like this.

"Close your eyes, and don't peak," he said firmly and Jin nodded before closing her eyes and covering them with her hands. Zuko took a few steps forward, bringing his hands together and closing his own eyes. He breathed deeply, feeling the air around him and bringing out the ever-present fire that was always waiting to be unleashed. He opened his eyes and with precision, he ignited each of the unlit candles with tiny spits of fire launched from his first two fingers. He exhaled and he felt the energy in the air around him crackle out, returning to wait for a firebender to coax it into being once more. Zuko stood up straight and turned back to Jin.

"Okay, now you can look," he told her and she opened her eyes, letting her hands fall to her sides with wonder at the sight of all the candles lit up.

"Oh, wow," she looked at Zuko with amazement and it made him feel uncomfortable. She took a few steps forward so that she was standing right in front of him. "What happened? How did they light? What did you do?" she could barely contain her excitement and Zuko had to admit the scene did look very nice. He found himself glad that she had shared it with him, since it was obviously very special to her. He smiled at her in response and she didn't inquire any further. He turned to look at the fountain.

Jin brushed her hand through her hair nervously, and with a smile, reached out and took both his hands in hers. They felt good to hold and so warm. He seemed to radiate heat and she had noticed it every time he had served her tea, oblivious to her obvious crush on him. She had noticed when she ran a hand through his hair in front of the Pao Family Teahouse and when they had walked side by side to the restaurant for dinner. She noticed it especially when she had reached out and taken his hand in hers. Her rough, mannish hand, she thought sulkily, remembering his comment. He turned back to face her when she took up his hands and he looked right at her. She looked into his golden eyes and she could see he was conflicted about something. She had noticed that too, since the very first time she had laid eyes on him. That was the first thing she had noticed, not the deep red scar that marred half of his handsome face, or his long, pointed nose, or his high cheekbones and sharp, chiseled jaw. It was his eyes. They had seemed sad and confused but also sharp and intelligent. And there was something else in there, inside his head, kindness.

Jin found herself leaning forward, wrapped up in the moment. She tilted her head up towards his but before she could reach him he snatched one of his hands free and pulled out something, a voucher, that he held between them.

"I've brought you something," Zuko spat out nervously, he gulped. What was she doing? he wondered, getting so close to him like that? She wasn't going to...no, he assured himself but he felt his heart racing in his chest and his knees became weak, threatening to topple him over. Jin looked at him with surprise and, just for a moment, hurt played over her pretty features. "It's a coupon for a free cup of tea," Zuko explained hastily.

"Lee, this is so sweet," she said, taking the coupon in her now-free hand. Zuko let go of her and took a few steps back.

"Don't thank me," he said, self-conscious, "it was my uncle's idea. He thinks you're our most valuable customer."

"Your uncle is a good teacher," Jin said, closing the distance between them. He turned to face her. "I have something for you too. Now it's your turn to close your eyes," she looked at him and her smile was nervous. Zuko swallowed, breathing out slowly, before closing his eyes. Jin leaned forward purposefully, he head tilting up slightly to reach his. Now or never, she reassured herself. Then she kissed him.

Her lips touched his gently, probingly, and she felt him let out a short breath through his nose. What was she doing? she thought with dismay, and began to pull back. Then he kissed her back.

He leaned in and their lips met again. Zuko's head felt light and he breathed deeply through his nose, enjoying the lightly perfumed scent of her. Then he pulled back. He couldn't breathe. Their kiss had lasted only a moment. Zuko took a step back, getting some space between them. His heart was pounding in his chest. What was he doing? he thought angrily, dating some Earth Kingdom peasant? He was the prince of the Fire Nation and it should be his sole purpose in life to hunt down the Avatar and capture him! He didn't have time for this, for her. He felt a lump form in his gut that threatened to drop him to the ground with the weight of it.

"What's wrong?" Jin looked up at Zuko, her eyes full of hurt and worry. Zuko couldn't stand to see her like that so he averted his eyes from hers, looking down.

"It's complicated. I have to go," he managed to say weakly. He didn't dare risking another look at her, instead he turned and left.

Jin stood there alone for a minute. She was shocked at what had happened but she wasn't entirely surprised. Maybe he had lost someone close to him during the war, maybe he wasn't ready for any intimacy, she thought dejectedly to herself, she rushed things with him and now he was gone.

No, she thought to herself with determination, she would just have to go back and try again. She would have to ease him into it but she wasn't going to give up so easily. She was in love.

**To be continued...**

**Disclaimer:**

Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Mike and Bryan and Nickelodeon and whoever else. This is a work of fanfiction that I wrote because I love the world they created and I wanted to hang out in it for just a little longer.

**Author's Notes:**

Hi everyone! I'm back with my second fic, this time it's Jinko rather than Tokka. I was originally planning on doing a sequel to my Tokka fic but then I was actually really unsure that I could do the story justice and after a week of struggling with the ideas for how to move the story forward I decided to do a fresh story instead. I will go back to that Tokka fic, just after my writer's block clears up.

So this story is going to be about Zuko and Jin and Iroh in Ba Sing Se and it will go A.U. in terms of what happens later with Azula. Just a warning. I wanted to examine Zuko's intimacy issues, since it's something that I felt the canon never really dealt with in terms of how it would affect his romantic relationships. Also I really liked Jin and I wanted to explore her as a character as well. She was determined and persistent and I just don't think she would have let a little set back like one awkward date ruin her pursuit of Lee, the adorkable tea server!

If it isn't too much trouble, would you please leave feedback about what you liked/didn't like about the story? What do you want to see more of? What angle of the story do you find particularly interesting that I should focus on exploring? I read and respond to every single review I get and I take them all into account when I write my story. My story, like the Avatar world, belong as much to you as they do to me so please help me shape my story the way you want. After all, writing is about the reader and what you get out of it far more than it's about what I put into it :) as the expression goes, I'm not writing for myself.

**Updates:**

So I wrote all 63k words of my last fic (¾ the length of an average paperback novel) including edits and rewrites in 8 days rather than studying for my exams. That meant I was working 10-12 hours a day, everyday, for over a week. While I love it and I would do it again if I could, I'm working some pretty mean hours a fair distance from home this summer (student jobs, am I right?) and that means I will have a lot less time to write this fic. Instead I'm planning to have shorter chapters, like this one, and release twice a week (wednesday and saturday maybe?). Sorry about that.


	2. Chapter 2

Iroh stood by the window of the apartment that he and Zuko shared in the lower ring. He looked out over the dark city lost in thought as he worked away at the dishes in the sink before him. So much had changed since he had last been to Ba Sing Se. To think, when he had come as a conqueror he had never even made it through the outer agrarian ring. But as a humble refugee he could walk the streets of Ba Sing Se to his heart's content. Iroh smiled and sighed wistfully. The door behind him flew open and it brought him out of his reverie.

"How was your night, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked, turning around to face his nephew, but Zuko merely closed the door and silently slinked off into his room. Iroh stood there confused for a moment before shrugging and turning back to look out the window, _teenagers, _he thought with a small chuckle. His own son had been much the same way and Iroh assumed that all young men were secretive about their feelings, at least when it came to prying parents.

The door to Zuko's room opened a crack and Iroh turned back to see his nephew peering out at him.

"It was nice," Zuko said before closing the door again. Iroh smiled, he was glad to hear it. He considered himself a good judge of character and he thought that it would do Zuko a world of good to spend some time with such a nice young woman.

Iroh finished up the dishes then put on the kettle, being careful to light the pilot with a matchstick from the kitchen lamp rather than with his firebending. He went to the cupboard and took out a small sealed pot, opening it and inhaling deeply. Green tea, fairly fresh too. Iroh smiled. It must have been grown in the agrarian ring of the city to still be so fresh, he knew, since green tea quickly discolored after it was packaged turning first to orange-brown and then to black. Iroh reached into the pot and took out a small handful of the dry leaves and placed them into the recently cleaned teapot before resealing the tea leaf container and putting it back into the cupboard.

The water was boiled so Iroh poured it carefully into the teapot, leaving it to steep on the stove. Once it was steeped Iroh poured two cups and waited. Like he expected, the door to Zuko's room opened and the young man poked his head out.

"Did you brew tea, uncle?" Zuko asked expectantly. Iroh smiled and gestured to the two cups.

"Green tea," Iroh smiled, "your favourite." Zuko stepped out into the living room/kitchen and regarded his uncle with suspicion.

"Thank you," Zuko said, walking over to the cups and taking one. _Like coaxing an elephant/rat_, Iroh thought with a grin.

"Have a seat," Iroh said admonishingly when his nephew tried to turn and leave with his cup.

"It's been a long night," Zuko said weakly, "I was just going to drink this and get some sleep."

"Nonsense!" Iroh said, giving his nephew a welcoming grin, "you can spare a few moments to sit with your poor old uncle," Iroh rubbed his back for emphasis.

"Well...I," Zuko tried one last time.

"I just don't know how many more nights we'll be able to spend together," Iroh said gravely, giving Zuko his most sympathetic look. Zuko shifted uncomfortably under the old general's gaze before sitting down. Iroh's frown instantly turned to a wide, victorious smile.

"So...how was your evening?" Zuko asked stiffly. He didn't want to talk about his disastrous date with Jin and he was sure that his uncle would bring it up as quickly as possible.

"It was nice," Iroh said, "I went for a walk and I had a nice chat with a lovely woman who owns a noodle shop only a block away from Pao's teashop."

"That sounds nice," Zuko agreed meekly.

"May I tell you a story, nephew?" Iroh asked, but began before Zuko could answer either way. "As a young man I would often sneak out of the palace dressed as a simple peasant. Being the heir apparent to the Fire Nation made people treat me very differently and I wanted desperately to have a normal friend," Iroh looked fondly out the window into the night sky. "One day I found her, a young woman. We became fast friends, she was adventurous and daring and her sense of humor..." Iroh smiled deeply.

"What happened between you two?" Zuko found himself asking.

"I was young and foolish. My father, Fire Lord Azulon, offered me my first command in the army. He had bought me a commission as a lowly lieutenant in new regiment and I snapped at the chance to prove myself overseas."

"That's great," Zuko said, "he was giving you a chance to prove yourself?" Iroh's admonishing gaze made Zuko's statement falter into a question.

"That was what I thought," Iroh continued with a deep sigh, "I was so preoccupied with winning the affection of the nobles and officials, people whom I didn't even know, that I lost sight of the affection of someone very dear to me. I left for the Earth Kingdom the next day and I never saw Jade again…" Iroh sipped his tea. Zuko struggled to find something to say to fill the silence.

"Could things have worked between you two?" Zuko asked.

"Perhaps," Iroh said resignedly, "she was a commoner and I was the heir to the throne...but I suppose what I regret most is not finding out for myself," Iroh continued to look out the window. Zuko nodded to himself and Iroh saw it out of the corner of his eye.

"It's late," Zuko said, finishing his tea, now lukewarm, before standing, "I think I'll turn in."

"Me too," Iroh said, clearing the table of the teapot and cups. Zuko walked to the door to his bedroom but stopped before going inside.

"Thanks, uncle," he said and went in without waiting for a reply. Iroh smiled. _Sometimes, _he thought to himself, _his nephew needed advice, especially when he couldn't ask for it._

"Two cups of black tea for table six," Zuko called across the counter to his uncle who was busy brewing the many varieties of tea they had in stock. Iroh poured the cups and placed them on the tray Zuko offered. Zuko brought the cups to the table and set them down in between an older couple who gave him warm smiles as he bowed away. The ringing of the door chime made Zuko spin on the spot to see who had come in. It was a middle aged man who took a seat by the door. Zuko's heart dropped with disappointment before reason reasserted itself. _She'll probably never come back,_ Zuko thought bitterly, _after the way he freaked out last night._ He sighed and put on his best smile, which to be honest wasn't very good at all, before greeting the new patron.

"Well to the Pao Family Teahouse," Zuko said through his forced smile, "where there's a little love in every cup."

"Uh, right," said the man, a labourer by the look of his wiry build and rough, calloused skin. "I'll just have some mint tea to go."

"Sure," Zuko shrank with embarrassment. He hated that stupid slogan. He walked back to his uncle behind the counter, "one cup of mint to go."

"Of course," Iroh smiled warmly and Zuko thought that he looked right in his element here. General Iroh, the famed Dragon of the West, happily brewing tea for Earth Kingdom peasants. _Strange,_ Zuko thought, _he seems...happy._ He had always assumed that his uncle was just putting up with things as they were ever since they had gone on the run because he was diligent and didn't like to complain. Zuko had never considered that his uncle might genuinely enjoy being a pauper. Zuko pondered this apparent contradiction while he carried the paper cup of mint tea back to the customer. The door chime rang again and Zuko's eyes shot to the door again and again he felt acutely disappointed when the newcomer wasn't Jin. _She's not coming back,_ he thought dejectedly. He sighed heavily. He had blown his chance.

"Pass me a pin," Iwo told her daughter, holding out her free hand while she held the hem in place.

"Yes mother," Jin said, passing her mother a pin distractedly. She was studying her hands, _her mannish hands_, she corrected herself. Her mother tisked softly as she pinned the dress' hem in place. Jin fingered the deep green fabric appreciatively. This dress was for a noblewoman, made from the finest cotton weave.

"What's wrong sweetie?" her mother asked her with genuine concern, "you've been in a funk all morning."

"It's nothing, mom," Jin said with an unconvincing smile. Her mother raised an accusing eyebrow.

"Nothing, hm? What's nothing's name then?" her mother hit the nail on the head.

"Nothing's name is Lee," Jin admitted with a sigh. She knew her mother meant well but it was embarrassing just thinking about her date the night before, much less talk about it.

"Oh really?" her mother stopped working so she could put her hands on her hips. "Did this Lee try something on you, hm? Do I need to go give him one of these?" Iwo punched the air viciously. Jin smirked at that, holding back a giggle.

"No mother," Jin assured her, "he didn't try anything. That's the problem." Her mother's eyes went wide at that comment and Jin quickly corrected herself, "no! Wait. I meant that I don't think he likes me, that he wouldn't try anything given the opportunity."

"Given the…" her mother sputtered, "Jin!"

"Relax," Jin said with a nervous smile, raising her arms in a placating way. "We went out for dinner together, that's all." Her mother's shock returned to weary appraisal.

"And you don't think he likes you because…?" her mother went back on the attack.

"Well…" Jin began, careful not to reveal that she had kissed him, "he...kind of ran off."

"What?" Iwo's fists were raised again, "I ought to go straighten him out right now! Nobody runs off on my baby girl!"

"Mother!" Jin chided, her mother was a good woman, just sometimes she forgot that Jin was sixteen now and she could look out for herself. At least when it came to dating.

"Oh fine," her mother conceded, "but sometimes a good threat or two works wonders. How do you think I wrangled your father, spirits rest his soul, into marrying me?"

"Mother!" Jin covered her ears hastily, she did not need to hear about her mother and father's romantic life. Iwo laughed good-naturedly and waited until her daughter took her hands away from her ears before continuing.

"So you think this boy doesn't like you?" Iwo asked, "so what? There are plenty more otter/seals in the sea."

"Not like him," Jin said sulkily. "I really like him…" Her mother came over to her and held her head firmly between her hands.

"If that's how you really feel...then go back out and get him," Iwo gave her daughter a wicked grin. "Just remember, if he tries anything," she mimed punching the offending young man.

"Thanks, mom," Jin said with a warm smile. She turned towards the door.

"Aiya!" Iwo scolded her, "where do you think you're going? Pick up boys on your own time!"

"Can I take my lunch early today?" Jin asked, giving her mother her best deer/puppy dog eyes. Her mother folded her arms in protest but nodded.

"Okay, but be back here in an hour," she told Jin.

"You're the best," Jin ran over and gave her mother a firm hug. "Also...could I have some money for tea?"

"Fine," her mother handed her a few copper coins.

"Thanks," Jin smiled, tucking the coins into a belt pouch. With that, she turned and left the small shop for the busy streets of the lower city.

She reached into her pocket and realised she had the free tea coupon from last night. _Oh well,_ she thought, _she could use the money for an extra snack. _That brought back thoughts of the previous night's dinner. _My appetite is completely normal!_ she thought with outrage as her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. She would have to pick something up on the way to the teashop.

**To be continued...**

**Author's Notes:**

Hi everybody! So I have to get up for work tomorrow morning at 6am :( so I decided to upload this chapter Friday night before bed rather than when I got home from work around dinner time. I hope that's okay :)

This chapter deals with the doubt surrounding the disastrous date and the 'gentle' pushes the odd couple get from their respective parents. There will be more Jinko goodness in the next chapter I promise. Despite my original intent to have this story be a bit more dramatic, it seems to be turning more comedic so I tagged it as Romance/Humor. There will still be heavier moments of course, but the characters are just too funny to not make as many jokes with them as possible!

I hope Iwo, Jin's mother and my OC, came across well. Let me know what you thought of her? She'll feature more prominently in the story to come so if you like how she is so far let me know, or if there is something you found less than enjoyable tell me about that too?

So what did you think about this chapter? The last chapter was built off the Tales of Ba Sing Se segment but now it's all me so hopefully it goes well. Did the characters seem believable? Was the fluff interesting? What angle of the story would you like to see me focus on more? Like I said before, the Avatar world is for all of us and I'm writing this story for all of you. So please help me to make it the best story it can be and the story you'll enjoy!

The next chapter should be out next Wednesday!

**Reviews:**

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thanks! I'm glad to hear that the characters came out well, since this is my first Zuko or Jin fic and I'm still finding their voices. I took your suggestion and I hope the italics for inner speech will help with the flow since that's really important to the readability of any story. Thank you very much :)

**To firedragoonknight: **Thank you! If the story keeps going in the direction that I'm planning we will see some firebending from Zuko, as for Jin - well, who knows what she can do? ;) and yeah, I'm not a huge fan of modern AU (with some very good quality exceptions) either :P

**To Kiyoky: **Hi! I'm glad to hear it :) also not sure if you meant 'I love this chap' or 'I love this crap' but either way, thanks :P

**To SkorpionQueen012: **Thanks so much :) I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

**To lawliness: **Thank you! I hope you enjoy the whole story as much as the first chapter :)


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow," Pao said, looking down at all the money that filled the cash drawer, "I don't know how you do it, Mushi, but business has never been better!" The owner looked at his employee with pride. "I mean really, how good can someone really make a cup of hot leaf juice anyways?"

"You do me too much honor," Iroh said with a broad smile, wiping his hands on his apron, "the flavor is there in the leaves, I just help to coax it out."

"Nonsense," Pao said, a wide smile beaming on his face as he scooped up the coins in handfuls and put them into a small portable strong box. He took out a few copper coins and held them out to Iroh, "here's a bonus for all your hard work."

"I was just doing my job," Iroh told his employer, "if anyone deserves the bonus it's my nephew. His friendly demeanor keeps the customers coming back."

"Well then you can give it to him later," Pao insisted and Iroh took the small handful of coins reluctantly. He bowed and Pao bowed back. "I've got to get this money to the bank, I'll be back shortly." With that he left out the back door. Iroh returned to work, pocketing the tip.

"Three cups of oolong, uncle," Zuko said unceremoniously as he walked up to the counter. "And those customers asked if you would serve them yourself," Zuko pointed behind him to a table where three older women were sitting. Iroh gave them his most winning smile and wave and they giggled and began to talk softly with each other. Zuko groaned audibly.

"I would be happy to," Iroh told his nephew, pouring three cups of oolong tea and taking up the tray as he walked over to the seated women. Zuko groaned again and waited by the counter. _No need to see this, _he told himself_, he had had enough of his uncle embarrassing himself while they were on the road._

"Why hello young ladies," Iroh said smoothly as he came up to the table. This earned him a chorus of giggles from the three women seated around the table. "It's been oolong time since I've been graced by such beautiful company," he smiled at each of them in turn as he placed a cup before each of them. That earned him raucous laughter from the women as well as the other nearby patrons.

"You have got to be kidding," Zuko muttered. He had heard the lame tea pun from all the way across the shop. _For all his talk of humility, he sure likes showing off._

"I would love to spend some more time with you lovely ladies," Iroh told them apologetically, "but sadly, tea is such a harsh mistress." As if for emphasis, one of the kettles on the stove behind the counter began to whistle. He bowed and left the charmed women at their table.

"Why do you do that?" Zuko asked under his breath as Iroh returned to his post. Iroh looked at his nephew with confusion as he took the whistling kettle off the burner.

"Do what, nephew?" Iroh asked, giving Zuko his best innocent grin.

"Flirt with every woman you see!" Zuko said it harsher than he had meant to but Iroh just chuckled good naturedly.

"At my age, one learns to appreciate beauty. After all, one never knows when that beauty will be fleeting," Iroh said sagely. That hit Zuko harder than he expected and his thoughts turned immediately to Jin and then to last night.

"I see," Zuko said, averting his gaze. He was so wrapped up in thought that he didn't register the sound of the door chime as the door to the teashop opened, admitting another patron.

"Don't worry, nephew," Iroh's smile grew wider still, "at your age beauty is often lasting and resilient." He gestured toward the girl who had just come in and Zuko turned to see Jin standing by the door. Jin looked back at him, her cheerful demeanor somehow different. She was hesitant and Zuko could see it in her body language as she took a seat at a free table. The sight made Zuko flinch. He had been so preoccupied with the hope that she would come back that he hadn't made any plans for what to do when she did.

"Uncle," Zuko began but caught himself. He was so lost that he didn't even know what to ask.

"What are you waiting for, nephew?" his uncle chided encouragingly, "go and take her order." Zuko nodded and straightened himself before walking across the small teashop to where Jin was seated. She was looking down at the table, tracing circles on the wooden tabletop with her fingertip. Zuko felt his chest get tighter and his mind raced for something to say. In the end he said,

"Welcome to the Pao Family Teahouse," he began stupidly, the greeting automatic. "Where…" he stopped there and coughed awkwardly, _where there's a little love in every cup. _There was a momentary pause that the uncomfortable silence made unbearable. _Gah! _Zuko scolded himself, _say something, _"...hi, Jin." She looked up at that, her usual cheerful smile was back in full force but even Zuko could tell from the sag of her shoulders and the downturn of her eyes while she struggled to maintain eye contact with him that she was uncomfortable.

"Hi Lee," she said cautiously. Then neither of them said anything. _Wonderful,_ Jin thought sulkily, _she had come over to repair the damage from last night and she could barely even look at the guy! _"How are you?"

"Good," Zuko blurted out too quickly, "how are you?" Jin's face softened a fraction at that. _At least it was something,_ she reassured herself.

"I'm good," she said, then as if as an afterthought, "I felt like having a cup of your uncle's famous tea with lunch."

"Is that to go then?" Zuko said and cringed when he saw Jin's face fall again, her shoulders hunching unconfidently. He found that he hated to see her like this, so different from the cheerful, confident girl he had spent the last night with.

"Oh," Jin said, startled, "I wasn't planning on it…"

"Good," Zuko interrupted before he upset her further. "I'm glad." She relaxed at that. _Good,_ he breathed a sigh of relief. "What would you like?"

"Oh," she thought about it for a moment, "I'll have my usual." Her smile took on a wicked turn and her eyes watched Zuko knowingly, she was beginning to get back to her old self.

"Ah," Zuko said with as much confidence as he could manage. "Your usual?" he confirmed and she simply nodded. "I'll get right on that!"

"Thanks," she smiled at him warmly, confident that he didn't have a clue what her usual order was, despite coming to the teashop every day for at least a week. Despite the awkwardness of the previous night she found herself having fun teasing him. _He's so cute when he's nervous, _she thought with a stifled giggle, _no wonder she came here so often._

"I'll be right back," Zuko bowed and turned before walking purposefully back across the teashop to his uncle. As soon as he was close enough that nobody else would hear he asked, "uncle! You're a people person…"

"Well, I don't know -" Iroh began with a chuckle when Zuko cut him off.

"Good. Good! So then you remember our most valuable customer, right?" Zuko asked pleadingly. Iroh nodded, raising an eyebrow at his nephew before Zuko continued, "What's her usual order?" Zuko watched his uncle's face expectantly and his own face fell when Iroh looked back at him with confusion.

"Well," Iroh said, "hm…" Zuko grabbed a handful of hair at the front of his head with frustration. Iroh's face showed concern before his eyes brightened. "Ah! I remember now," Iroh said triumphantly.

"Good, what is it?" Zuko asked, letting go of his hair just short of pulling it out.

"She always orders something different," Iroh told his nephew with a shrug.

"What?" Zuko asked, slapping his forehead, "well then what should I bring her?" Iroh paused to think for a moment before turning to pour a cup of rose tea, "she hasn't had this one yet. You can surprise her," Iroh placed the cup down on Zuko's serving tray.

"Thank you, uncle," Zuko told her seriously, "good plan."

Meanwhile Jin waited at her table, watching the conversation that was going on between Lee and his uncle. She watched with amusement as Lee looked like he was going to pull out his hair for a moment, and again when he slapped himself in the face. _It was a little mean of her_, she admitted, _but she couldn't resist. He was so easily frazzled. _Her fingers drummed on the table while she watched Mushi pour a cup which Lee took. He turned around smartly and Jin looked away pointedly, pretending that she hadn't been watching the entire exchange with interest.

"Here it is," Zuko said as he approached the table, clearing his throat loudly so Jin would look up to see him place the cup of rose tea on the table before her. She looked at it with mock confusion.

"What's this?" she asked hesitantly and Zuko felt a burning feeling in his cheeks, his back going straight and stiff.

"Uh, well…" he stammered out, "it's rose tea. I thought since you…"

"You remembered!" Jin said with a broad smile, her eyes glancing behind Zuko to Iroh, who shrugged with embarrassment, for just a moment.

"What?" Zuko was caught off guard, _did his uncle set him up? _"I mean...yes...of course!" He gave her his best forced smile but his eyebrows were set into a frown that was directed partly at his uncle at partly at his own stupidity. Jin watched his face contort into this strange expression.

"Thank you," Jin said earnestly, then she hesitated. _How should she go about this? _she wondered. "Can you sit with me for a moment?" Zuko shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Well, I have to get back to work…" he said lamely and Jin's smiled faltered. Seeing this, Zuko added, "but I could take my lunch break in half an hour?"

"I have to get back to work too," she told him with a sigh, "it's okay. Nevermind." Despite himself, Zuko found himself sitting down across from her.

"Is this about last night?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Jin nodded firmly. _What to say? _he wondered. _What should I tell him? _she thought. They both sat silently, thinking of how to broach the subject.

"I -"

"Do -"

They both spoke at the same time. Then they both stopped.

"So the thing is -"

"I just wanted to say -"

This was going nowhere. Jin frowned and Zuko rubbed his neck nervously.

"I'm sorry for last night," Jin said and Zuko felt a pit form in his gut and it was suddenly very hot in the teashop because he felt a thin layer of sweat form on his neck. "Not all of it!" she corrected herself, "just how it ended…"

"Wait," Zuko stepped in and Jin looked at him expectantly. "Well, the thing is…" he had to force himself to make eye contact with her and not look down at the table. "It's just I guess I thought that…" _There was no room in my busy schedule of capturing the Avatar to have a girlfriend? _he thought lamely, _no, he needed a better reason than that. _"Well, there have been so many changes in my life lately. I mean I've never even been on a date before!" he laughed nervously, _gah! Why did he say that?! _He watched Jin's face for signs of mockery but, like the night before, her smile was still gentle and encouraging and he felt himself relax a fraction.

"Really?" she asked, but her voice was curious, not mean. "Well it was a good first date," she smiled and the ghost of a smile crept onto Zuko's face, his cheeks turning even redder.

"Really?" he found himself asking despite himself. Jin nodded and a small smile finally appeared on Zuko's face.

"Well, except for the running away part," Jin teased and the smile vanished from Zuko's face instantly. "No, I'm sorry. That's not fair," she reached out a hand and placed her fingers on one of his hands that was resting on the table. Her fingers brushed across his knuckles and she heard him gulp audibly from across the table. His hand was dry and his skin was rough but his hand was firm and it felt good under Jin's fingers. She felt her head get lighter and she had to concentrate on speaking. "I rushed things," she told him but his gaze was on their hands together and she wasn't sure he had heard her until his eyes came back up to meet her gaze. There was intelligence behind those eyes and she could tell that he was calculating and weighing something in his head. There was also a cautious softness that told Jin that he was weighing risks rather than concocting some scheme. _There was something very appealing about him_, she thought, she had know a lot of guys and the ones who had showed interest in her had all had the same calculating, almost predator look and she hated it. _Not him_, she told herself. "It was just with the fountain and everything," she swallowed nervously, "I just got carried away." Zuko murmured his agreement and Jin felt her heart sink in her chest.

"No," he said awkwardly, "I overreacted." He rolled his eyes uncomfortably, avoiding her gaze. "I'm sorry." She gave his hand a squeeze and he looked at her again.

"Do you think we could give it another shot?" she asked, holding her breath as he stayed silent. She watched his chest rise and fall heavily, while his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly back and forth. She could feel her palm get sweaty and she moved her hand away from his self-consciously so that only her fingertips were resting on the back of his hand.

"I'd like that," Zuko said after what seemed like forever but was probably closer to a few seconds. Jin swallowed audibly with relief and she felt a rising feeling in her chest. "Tonight?"

"I'd like that," she said with a broad smile, her eyes softer than Zuko had ever seen them. _They're beautiful_, a voice in his head said before he could reign it in. They both sat like that for a while, neither saying anything until Jin spoke up, "I have to get back to work. I'll meet you out front of the teashop at dusk?"

"Yeah," was all Zuko could say. Then Jin stood, forgetting her tea as she left the Pao Family Teashop. Zuko watched her go before standing up, straightening his apron reflexively.

"Congratulations!" Iroh's voice, close behind Zuko, got his attention. Zuko spun to face his uncle incredulously. Iroh was only two paces behind him, carrying a now-empty tea tray.

"Uncle!" Zuko spat out, flabbergasted, "what are you doing?"

"I was just serving tea," Iroh said innocently, "it's not my fault if I just so happen to notice things that go on in this place." Zuko groaned loudly before realising that the other patrons were all watching him.

"Thatta boy!" one young woman called out from the next table over.

"She's a keeper!" an older man called out from a few tables away.

"Young love!" a middle aged woman this time. That earned a chorus of good natured laughter from the patrons, who Zuko realised with horror had been watching his conversation with Jin intently.

"Gah!" Zuko said, his face turning a dark, beet red. "Uncle!" was all he could say before storming off out the back door.

"Teenagers," Iroh offered, with a shrug and the patrons laughed again. Iroh was glad that his nephew had worked things out. _Maybe there is a chance for him to start over in this city_, Iroh thought with real hope and conviction. _That was all he wanted_.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

Hello again! I hope you all liked this chapter and the story so far! So Zuko and Jin are going to give it another try and hopefully it will turn out better than last time.

So after the first time Zuko and Jin held hands back in Chapter 1, which was from Zuko's POV, I wanted to write it this time from Jin's perspective. If you've read my other fic, Six Weeks in Ba Sing Se, you'll know I have a thing for handholding scenes :P what can I say? It's cute and there's a certain uncertainty and nervousness to holding hands the first few times with someone that I just love to write about. I also try to make sure that both characters have equal agency in the relationship and equally represented perspective (something else you can find in Six Weeks, *hint hint* *nudge nudge*) since it really bothers me when a pairing seems one sided and one character is doing/initiating everything. So expect to see these kinds of things either multiple times or with confusing perspective switches!

As always, please review and let me know what you think :) what works and what doesn't? What do you want to see more of? I've already taken two suggestions from the comments to include in the story, but I won't say which ;) you'll just have to wait to see.

**Reviews:**

**To SkorpionQueen012: **Thanks :) I really like Zuko and Iroh's relationship so I try to bring across the kindness and guidance as best as I can. Haha! Yeah, Iwo is pretty corny but that was what I was going for :)

**To Guest: **Thank you :) and thanks for the review!

**To Kiyoky: **Ah I see! Well your english is pretty good if you're learning it now :) what's your native language then? And yeah, I thought Zuko must have really liked Jin to risk firebending in the city for her too :)

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thanks Rex! After reading your review I went back and rewatched the episode where Zuko apologizes to the Gaang and joins their group to really get Zuko's awkwardness right, so I hope that comes across well :)

**To lawiness: **Thanks for the critique :) yeah, I will definitely work on rounding out Iwo so she isn't just always threatening Zuko. I appreciate the constructive criticism!

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thank you! :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!


	4. Chapter 4

Jin waited patiently by the front door of the Pao Family Teashop while the last patron left for the night. She saw the open sign flip over to 'closed' and she chewed on an apple that she had picked up to tide herself over until dinner. The sun was just setting over Ba Sing Se and it cast the lower ring in a bright red-orange light. Jin leaned against the wall nonchalantly but inside her heart was racing. _This time don't jump him,_ she thought critically and her cheeks flushed as she recalled their first kiss the night before.

The sound of the front door opening drew her out of her reverie and she stood up straight as Zuko came out of the shop. She smirked, noticing that he hadn't done up his hair like last time. He must have taken her advice, he looked better with his short hair scruffy and wild.

"Hi there," she said, walking up to him.

"Hi Jin," he said nervously. "So what would you like to do tonight?"

"Well, I haven't eaten yet," she said and Zuko nodded. Zuko looked even more nervous now, shifting his weight from foot to foot in what Jin's mother had called the 'needs-to-pee dance'.

"I could…" Zuko began, "well...I can cook. And I'm considered pretty good at it. So I could, uh...cook dinner for you?"

"Oh wow," Jin brightened up at that, "that sounds great!" She held out her arm and Zuko looked at it with confusion. She looked down at his arm and he remembered the courtiers from his childhood at the palace. With a cough of embarrassment, Zuko propped out his elbow so Jin could lock arms with him. She looked up at him, tilting her head and smiling.

"We live this way," Zuko coughed out, leading her down the street.

The apartment was cozy if a bit small but that was hardly surprising to Jin since space was at such a premium in the lower ring. The main room served as both living room and kitchen, with a stove and counter in one corner and a table with two chairs against the opposite wall. There were three doors leading off from the main room, _the bedrooms and bathroom, _Jin thought. Her thoughts drifted unbidden to Lee's bedroom and she made a strange sound between a tisk and a huff from the back of her throat and she swallowed with embarrassment. _What? _she scolded herself, _she was just curious about the decor!_

"You can have a seat, I'll get started on dinner," Zuko said, gesturing to the table across the room from the 'kitchen' corner. "I know it's not much but my uncle is very proud of the place."

"It's fine," Jin said with a gentle smile, "but the company is perfect." Zuko blushed and turned away from her, pretending to be very busy gathering pots and pans from the cupboard.

"Do you like noodles?" Zuko asked before stopping himself, "of course you do. You had them yesterday."

"Do you want any help?" Jin asked, coming over to Zuko. This took Zuko by surprise. He turned back to face her, a wok in his hand.

"That's alright," he told her, "it's not that hard." Jin raised an eyebrow and cocked her hips challengingly at her date. "But if you want to help," he added hastily, "you can help cut the vegetables?" She nodded, taking up a position beside him. He reached into the cupboard and took out the ingredients, spreading them out on the counter.

"What do you need me to cut?" Jin asked, raising a long sharp knife at the ready. _She wasn't much of a cook,_ she admitted to herself, _but she wasn't about to sit there while her date cooked her dinner all by himself._

"Woah," Zuko said, placing his hand on her wrist and lowering the knife, "be careful with that thing." She nodded seriously and it made Zuko smile sheepishly.

"Start with these," Zuko placed down a bundle of carrots, celery, a few onions, and a clove of garlic on the counter along with a cutting board. Jin set to work while Zuko began boiling some water on the stove, careful to light the pilot with a matchstick from the lantern rather than with firebending, and then he went to work making the noodles.

As the water boiled, Jin was just finishing her task and she looked up at Zuko with amused surprise. He was kneading and pulling the soft dough into long strands and his arms and face were dotted with flour. He worked deftly, lifting the bundle of dough and stretching and kneading it, coaxing it into shape. His eyes were locked on the noodles with total concentration and he seemed oblivious to the growing coat of flour that was covering his softly tanned skin.

"Hey," she got his attention and he turned to look at her, stopping what he was doing, "you've got a little something…" she said softly, reaching out and running her thumb across the tip of his nose, wiping away the flour. Zuko's eyes went wide and he swallowed reflexively but he didn't move away. Jin's hand lingered a few inches from his face and Zuko found himself reaching up and taking her hand in both of his. He was breathing hard and his palms were already sweating profusely by the time his hands closed around Jin's, turning the dry flour wet as it smeared between their hands.

"Thanks," Zuko managed to say dumbly and Jin smiled, her big brown eyes locked on his. _Kiss him! _a voice shouted in Jin's head and she almost listened when the memory of their last failed kiss came flooding back to her. Zuko felt her arm go limp and he lowered it down so that their hands rested between them around stomach height.

"Any time," Jin squeaked out, looking down at the stove, "the water's boiling." Zuko, remembering what they were doing, turned back to the stove, letting go of Jin's hand reluctantly. He took the vegetables and put them into the pot, covering the lid partially so it wouldn't boil over.

"Uncle taught me how to cook," he explained, _ever since he had been exiled, _"we've been on our own for a few years."

"Well at least you have each other," Jin said, placing a hand on his shoulder. _His broad, muscled shoulder,_ the little voice was back and Jin suppressed it with effort.

"Yeah," Zuko looked away from her, "he's been like a father to me." He felt her hand on his cheek as she turned him back to look at her. Her fingers were thin but strong and her skin was rough but supple and Zuko felt his cheek heating up under her touch.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly and Zuko watched her eyes, _why did she want to know? Was she looking for weakness? _he wondered but he found himself trusting her. She hadn't judged him or mocked him so far after all. _But she doesn't know the truth, _he thought angrily.

"It's just…" he began, "I haven't always been the best nephew. Sometimes…" he looked for the right words, "sometimes I take him for granted."

"You should tell him how much he means to you," she said kindly but firmly, "it means a lot to hear from the ones you love. Even if they know it, it's still nice to hear."

"Right," Zuko shifted uncomfortably. _Why was he telling her this? _he wondered, _he had never been one to share with anyone, much less some stranger! No, _he decided firmly, _she wasn't a stranger anymore._

"When do we have to put in the noodles?" she asked, looking down at the bubbling pot on the stove with hungry eyes. She smacked her lips unconsciously and Zuko smiled. "What?" she said warmly, turning back to see him smiling.

"Oh…" Zuko's eyes went wide in surprise, "nothing. I was just…"

"You're cute when you're nervous," Jin said with a smile and Zuko swallowed.

"We can add the spices now," he said, clearing his throat and he began rooting around in the cupboard. He withdrew a few spices and laid them down on the counter along with a bottle of soya sauce and another bottle of hot chili sauce. He lifted the lid off the pot to see the vegetables cooking nicely and he measured out each spice in turn, adding it to the broth.

"That smells great!" Jin said enthusiastically, leaning forward to smell the broth.

"Thanks," Zuko said, surprised at how happy it made him to hear her compliment his cooking. "Do you want to know the secret of good noodles?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Eggs," he said, taking an egg from the pantry under the counter.

"Eggs?" Jin raised an eyebrow and Zuko nodded.

"You break an egg into the broth," he cracked the egg deftly on the side of the metal cooking pot and pulled it open, spilling the contents into the simmering broth. "Then you whisk it up," he picked up a ladle and beat the egg furiously, being careful not to spill any broth over the edge, "and it gives the whole thing a really interesting texture," he finished by putting the egg shell into a small garbage bin beside the stove.

"Your uncle taught you all of this?" Jin asked, watching him intently.

"Yeah," Zuko said with pride, "he's always been a great cook. When I was little…" he trailed off, his voice deflating. "Sorry."

"I understand," Jin said with a sympathetic smile that took Zuko by surprise.

"You do?" he asked uncomprehendingly.

"You and your uncle came to this city as refugees. You came here to start over. Everything that happened before...you can leave that all behind," Jin said, taking Zuko's hands in hers. Zuko shrank back, his hands falling out of hers.

"It's not that simple," he told her weakly. "You don't understand," he hung his head.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking away dejectedly. Zuko saw this and for some reason he felt guilty. _It wasn't her fault, _he told himself, _she doesn't know._

"No," Zuko told her firmly, "I'm sorry. It's not your fault," she perked up at that and Zuko felt a flutter in his chest. "It's just…" he looked for the right words, "there are still some things I have to do. From before."

"Okay," she said soothingly then looking back at the pot, "When do we add the noodles?"

"Oh right!" Zuko nearly jumped, he had forgotten about them. He grabbed the noodles and carefully placed them into the boiling water. "It should only be a few minutes now," he said, grateful for the change of conversation. "So have you lived in Ba Sing Se your whole life?"

"Yep," Jin said cheerfully, "my mom and dad ran a tailor's shop since before I was born."

"Ran?" Zuko asked.

"Well," Jin's face fell, "my mom still runs it but my dad passed away when I was younger." Jin's shoulders sagged and her entire demeanor became sullen and withdrawn.

"I know how you feel," Zuko said, reaching out and putting his hands firmly on Jin's shoulders, "I lost my mother when I was little." He found himself pulling Jin closer and her arms came up to wrap around him, her hands resting on his back. He could feel her heart beating as her chest pressed softly up against his and he felt her soft black hair brush against his cheek as her chin came to rest on his shoulder. Suddenly he found it very difficult to breathe but the feeling of her warm body so close felt comforting so he pulled her closer. He reached over her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her so that his forearms were crossed behind the nap of her neck.

"You smell nice," Jin murmured into his collar and he felt a shiver run down his spine as the vibrations from her lips ran across his neck under the fabric of his shirt. He tried to respond but all that came out was a quick snort of air but she understood what he meant to say. _I needed this too. _They stayed like that for a time until the pot of noodles began to boil over and they had to part so Zuko could take the pot off the stove.

"Let's eat," Zuko said as he turned off the element, finally able to speak again. He served up two bowls and handed one to Jin before they moved to the table.

"Thank you," Jin said with a broad smile, smelling the delicious meal before her, _and thank you for that,_ her tone said.

"Any time," Zuko said nervously and Jin raised an eyebrow that caused him to blush furiously.

Then there was a knock at the door.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a joy to write :) despite having some difficulties getting started and deciding how it was going to go, the rest just came tumbling out.

I hope Jin's backstory is good, I wanted it to parallel the loss that Zuko has suffered but she handles her baggage in a very different way to Zuko and they both have a lot to teach each other :)

As always, please leave a review and let me know what you liked and didn't like! I respond to every review and I take all your criticism, feedback, and advice to heart as I continue the story! Tell me if there's a scene you want to see included or a character I should have cross their path. No promises, but I want to make this the best story it can be and that means a story that explores as much of their relationship as possible :)

**Reviews:**

**To Guests: **Thank you for your reviews!

**To bunjeepanda: **Thanks :) I am a Jinko fan so I'm glad to hear there are so many others around. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

**To Suvorov: **Thank you!

**To Anonymous Rex: **I appreciate all your support :) I hope this chapter didn't dissapoint.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a knock at the door and Jin gave Zuko a quizzical look, that stopped him as he began rising to his feet, ready for a fight. The knocking continued loudly and quickly so it could easily be heard from anywhere in the apartment and so it was impossible to ignore. Then the door slide open a fraction and a familiar voice called through the opening.

"Hello!" Iroh's voice was loud and his was 'hello' dragged out with exaggerated effect. "I'm coming inside! Hello! If you need time to get dressed, speak now!"

"Uncle!" Zuko shot to his feet with exasperation, his face turning beet red. Jin looked away embarrassed, her face coloring as dark as Zuko's.

"Is it safe?" Iroh asked, less loudly now and Zuko made a sound between a groan and a quiet scream of frustration.

"It's safe," Jin spoke up when it was clear Zuko was too flabbergasted to say anything, despite her burning embarrassment. The door opened fully to reveal Iroh, standing there with the expression of someone who was interrupting something important but couldn't help it.

"Oh," Iroh said with a nervous grin, "good, good. But it's better to be safe than sorry, isn't that right nephew?" Zuko grumbled, remaining standing. "Jin, you see there was an incident at a hot spring a few months ago…"

"Uncle!" Zuko fell back into his chair, defeated. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I didn't know the two of you would be spending the evening here. I only noticed when I did because the front door was unlocked," Iroh shrugged, stepping inside and closing the door behind him as a few of their neighbors peaked out of their front doors into the hallway to see what all the commotion was about.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Jin said, her face returning to its natural color. "There's plenty extra on the stove. Lee made noodles from your recipe."

"He did?" Iroh smiled widely, pleasantly surprised that Zuko had paid any attention when he had given him cooking advice. Zuko looked around sheepishly under Iroh's fatherly gaze.

"And it's delicious!" Jin said, slurping up a mouthful of noodles for emphasis. She chewed with relish, _they really are excellent! _she admitted to herself, _much better than the vendor stuff._

"Well thank you," Iroh said with a warm chuckle, "but no, I won't intrude on your date. I was planning on taking a walk to the cobblers to pick up a new pair of sandals anyways," he wiggled one of his old sandals in the air, showing just how degraded his shoes had become.

"We'll leave you some dinner for when you get back then," Zuko said firmly and Iroh nodded thankfully.

"I just need to pick up some money from my room," Iroh said, gesturing to one of the doors off to the side of the kitchen/living room, "if you'll excuse me." Iroh walked off to his room, leaving Zuko and Jin alone in awkward silence.

"Uh," Zuko began.

"We -" Jin said at the same time.

"We wouldn't…"

"We wouldn't?"

"Well…"

"Oh! Of course not."

The silence dragged on for what seemed to the two of them like forever, until Iroh came back into the room, tucking a small bag of coins into his belt pouch. He looked from Zuko to Jin, a frown creasing his brow. Zuko was looking at the table, his eyes shifting around quickly like they did when he was worried about something. Jin was staring pointedly into her bowl of noodles and the characteristic smile that Iroh had come to associate with the girl was now a thoughtfully scowl. _Hm, _Iroh thought to himself, _how to fix this situation._ He stood there for a moment, for once at a loss for what to say to smooth things over. _Perhaps the joke with the door was a bit too far,_ he thought admonishingly. Then to everyone's surprise, Zuko spoke up.

"Uncle," he said quietly, looking at Jin for confirmation. She looked up at him and her characteristic smile returned, Iroh was glad to note. "Well the thing is…" Zuko turned to face Iroh stiffly. "Well, Jin made me realise something…" he gave her another subtle glance for confidence and Jin's reassuring smile nudged him forward. "I...well that is...I appreciate everything you do for me." Zuko practically spat the last sentence out and he looked sheepishly at his uncle.

"Thank you," Iroh said simply, giving Zuko a broad smile and to both their surprise, Zuko actually smiled back. "I know you appreciate me," Iroh continued, "but it is nice to hear it from you."

"Of course," Zuko said stiffly, _he didn't say it often, or really ever if he was being honest with himself. _Zuko's smile turned into a frown, _he had never told his uncle how much he meant to him. Why was that?_

"I'll be back in an hour," Iroh said, watching his nephew's expression with puzzlement. _He's so unused to expressing his feelings, _Iroh thought sadly, _he's afraid that it will make him look weak. This girl has already been very good for him._

"Right," Zuko said, breathing a sigh of relief. _Stupid, _he scolded himself, _uncle Iroh would never demean him or turn his kindness into a weapon._ Iroh gave Jin a slight nod as he made his way to the door.

"Thank you nephew," Iroh said seriously, "and thank you," he smiled at Jin. "I know you may not think so now," he addressed Zuko again, "but coming to this city might be the best thing that ever happened to us." With that he left, closing the door behind himself.

When he was gone, Jin looked at Zuko who was beginning to eat his own noodles quietly. _He's thinking again,_ Jin thought as she watched Zuko's face. _Something terrible must have happened to him to make him so uncomfortable saying a simple thank you to his uncle, _she pushed the thought from her mind, scolding herself for speculating about him like that.

"I'm proud of you," Jin told him and he looked up at her. "And I know that what you said meant a lot to your uncle."

"Do you think so?" Zuko asked, hope creeping into his voice. Jin nodded warmly.

"Yep," she said, taking another mouthful of noodles. "Everyone likes to hear that they're appreciated. Even if they know it deep down."

"Not everyone," Zuko said sulkily, his thoughts turning to his father and sister. _They know just how great they are, _he thought sourly, _they don't need to hear it from anyone. Especially not him. _He was frowning again, Jin noticed.

"These noodles are great," she told him, dropping the subject for now. "Seriously, the best I've ever had!"

"Really?" Zuko blushed as a small smile crept onto his face. "To be honest, I was sure they wouldn't be up to your standards."

"Oh?" she gave him a challenging look, "because I eat so much for a girl, I must have tried every noodle stand in the city?"

"Wait! No," he began, immediately flustered, before she cut him off.

"Oh, it's because you didn't think I would be a good assistant?" she was smiling broadly now, her face a mask of mischievous delight. It was all she could do to keep herself from giggling at Zuko's exasperation.

"No, I…" realisation dawned on Zuko's face and he blinked. _She was teasing him, _he realised. _Not mean or hurtful teasing like Azula but something else. _He chuckled and Jin's expression of happiness made his heart flutter in his chest. She was giggling now and he found himself chuckling along with her, half with humor and half with relief.

"I'm just kidding," she told him when she stopped giggling.

"I know," Zuko said with a smile, "actually it's because I think the egg I put in the broth was spoiled…" Jin's eyes went wide and she nearly choked, looking down at her noodles with alarm. Then Zuko began to laugh and she gave him her best glare which was undermined by the grin threatening to overtake her mock-scowl. "Kidding," Zuko said the word like he had never said it before in his life, like he was trying it out for size.

"That's not funny," she smiled at him and he shrugged innocently. Then he put his hand on the table and she reached across and took it. It was sweaty from nervousness but Jin still enjoyed the feeling of the rough skin of his fingers in hers and the firmness of his palm as he closed his hand around hers.

"I'm glad you like them," Zuko told her, "I could cook them for you again, next time." Jin smiled, _next time,_ she mulled the words over in her head with satisfaction. _Despite the rocky start, she had a very good feeling about them._

"Next time, I'll cook something for you," she told him with determination.

"But I thought you said you can't cook?" Zuko gave her a worried look and she shrugged innocently.

"Then you'll just have to teach me, won't you?" she raised her eyebrows questioningly and Zuko had to admit it was very cute. He nodded dumbly and Jin's eyebrows went back to normal, "then it's settled. You can come over to my place and you can teach me to cook. You can meet my mother while you're there too," she finished and Zuko choked on his noodles. She watched him with concern as he coughed and sputtered to clear his throat, his eyes going wide. "Lee? Are you okay?" her voice was full of concern now and he nodded, blinking tears from his eyes.

"Yeah," Zuko said, his voice raspy from the coughing, "I'm fine. Just...swallowed some noodles wrong." He tried to shrug nonchalantly but he was interrupted by another coughing fit.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jin asked, standing up and coming around the table to rest a hand gently on Zuko's back.

"Yep, totally fine," Zuko said with a grimace. "Sorry about that." She rubbed his back with her hand, tracing small circles slowly with her palm. Zuko felt a cold shiver run up his spine despite the intense heat that spread across his back at Jin's touch.

"You shouldn't be nervous," Jin said confidently, "my mom will love you. You're a great guy, trust me." Zuko looked up, keeping his face neutral with great effort despite the odd but pleasant feeling playing out across his back.

"I'm not sure if she'd like me…" Zuko began but stopped himself, some advice came to mind that stopped him, _everyone likes to hear they're appreciated. Was it as hard for her as it was for him to put herself out there like that? To tell him how much she thought of him? _Zuko swallowed, _no, no. She's full of confidence, isn't she? _He looked up into her eyes and he saw something there behind the gentle kindness. He saw that she was nervous, _she is putting herself out there and though she doesn't show it, it's tough for her too. _"Thank you." Jin's eyes softened and Zuko felt himself letting out a breath he hadn't realised that he had been holding. "That means a lot to hear from you," he reached up and put his hand lightly on her upper arm. Her arm was thin but firm and he could feel how soft her skin was through the thin cloth of her blouse and it made Zuko blush furiously. She smiled widely and he felt himself smiling back. Later, he would wonder if everyone was the same as them, if everyone was afraid of being rejected like he was. He would think about it and the more he looked for it, the more he saw it in everyone. But for now all he could think about was Jin.

"It's getting late," she said, looking out the window at the dark sky.

"I'll walk you home," Zuko said, standing up reluctantly as her hand fell from his back and he let go of her arm. They stood there in silence for a moment, neither one of them wanting to let the moment they were sharing end. Finally, they headed out into the streets of the lower ring.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it and thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed the story! It means so much to me to know that people are actually enjoying what I've been writing :D I apologize for the repeated shifts in tone, this chapter just kind of got away from me and the scene kept turning from tender to comic to sad without much I could do about it. I always find writing my fics to be like watching a really long episode of the show, I just write down stuff as it happens. Sometimes it turns out like this and sometimes I don't know how it's going to go until it gets there.

I actually intended to have this chapter and the next one be just one chapter but this one just got longer and longer so I decided to split them. Next chapter the story will start moving back to the events of the show, at least by the end of it.

As always, please review and let me know what you liked, didn't like, and what you would like to see more of! I'm not sure how long this fic is going to be in the end but there's still a ways to go and I'm open for suggestions and I am always looking for critique and feedback so that I can fix things that I'm doing wrong and expand on things I'm doing right!

**Reviews:**

**To bunjeepanda: **Thank you! I thought it would be cool for Zuko to be a good cook since we don't ever know that he isn't from the show. I'm glad you like the thought processes, I try to add as much character to the writing outside the dialogue as possible so it's good to know it's working :)

**To Kiyoky: **Thank you :) Don't get mad but I am actually a Maiko fan XD but I also like the other pairings with Zuko, he's a good character to explore a relationship with basically everyone!

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thank you so much! :) I do my best to capture their voices in the dialogue and I read everything over in my head in their voices when I edit my work to keep it as close to what they would say as possible so it's nice to know that it's working!

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thank you :) I really like Jin and it's a shame she didn't get explored much more in the show, so I'm trying to expand her character as much as I can!


	6. Chapter 6

The following morning was business as usual at the Pao Family Teashop. Iroh and Zuko had arrived early to prepare Iroh's workstation and to clean the shop before opening the doors for business. Pao himself came in an hour after opening to check in on things and chat up the customers but like usual he left his two star employees to their own devices. Zuko was still thinking about his date last night. _Date, _Zuko thought to himself, _date. Date. Date. _He repeated the word in his head, at first with unfamiliarity and hesitation but the more he said it the more confident and right it sounded in his head. He barely registered the commotion happening behind him in the center of the shop until he realised that three men were speaking to his uncle. This got his attention.

"So, you're the genius behind this incredible brew," the lead man, a bearded man in a fine green overcoat trimmed with gold cloth, told Iroh, "The whole city is buzzing about you! I hope Pao pays you well."

"Good tea is its own reward," Iroh replied modestly, causing Zuko to cringe. _What does that even mean? _Zuko thought with irritation. Other than Jin, Zuko hated working at the teashop.

"But it doesn't have to be the only reward," the lead man emphasised 'only' and this caught Iroh's attention. "How would you like to have your own tea shop?" Iroh's eyes went wide and his face broke out into a broad smile. Zuko watched the exchange as Pao, who was speaking with a couple of patrons at a nearby table, came rushing over.

"What's going on here?" Pao moved to stand between his employee and the rival businessman, "Are you trying to poach my tea-maker?"

"Sorry, Pao, but that's business for you, am I right?" the man smiled apologetically but his eyes were grinning. Pao's face contorted into a mask of worry as he turned back to Iroh.

"Mushi," Pao said quickly, using Iroh's alias, "if you stay, I'll make you assistant manager!" Iroh looked at Pao skeptically before Pao added, "Wait, senior assistant manager!"

"I'll provide you with a new apartment in the Upper Ring," the lead man upped the ante and Zuko stopped what he was doing to watch the scene unfolding before him. _He can't be serious? _Zuko thought to himself, _all uncle does is make tea!_ "The tea shop is yours to do whatever you want, complete creative freedom." The man let the words hang in the air, settling in before Iroh spoke up.

"I even get to name the shop?" Iroh's eyes were bright and wide like a child about to receive their birthday presents.

"Of course!" the man leaned back victoriously, knowing that Iroh was on board. Pao looked desperate, like he was about to pull his beard off his face in frustration. His eyes flashed desperately between Iroh and his rival.

"Uh," he scrambled for some way to top the offer on the table, "senior executive assistant manager?" Iroh handed Pao the pot of tea he had been holding before bowing to his new employer, agreeing to the terms. _Great! _Zuko thought as he walked past the men gathered in the middle of the tea shop, passing Pao who was walking away in defeat,_ even more tea serving. Wonderful._

"Did you hear, nephew?" Iroh asked excitedly as Zuko passed them by, "This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the Upper Ring of the city!" Zuko didn't stop as he made his way towards the door. _Great, _he thought sulkily, _serving tea for who knows how long and now he couldn't even look forward to seeing Jin on her lunches._

"That's right, young man," the man told Zuko with genuine enthusiasm that was totally lost on Zuko, "your life is about to change for the better!"

"I'll try to contain my joy," Zuko replied flatly, sparing them a glance over his shoulder as he walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

As he stepped outside something caught his attention immediately as it floated down from the sky toward him. It was a flyer of some kind and it wafted in the breeze, slowing descending right in front of Zuko. He snatched it out of the air and held it before him. _What?_ his heart almost stopped. The flyer was a missing ad for Appa. _That means…_ Zuko's mind was racing as his eyes darted around the clear sky above him. He couldn't see far with the buildings blocking his vision so he turned to find the nearest low roof so he could climb up to get a better view. _Where is he?! _Zuko's heart was pounding and his palms were coated in a cold sweat as his eyes darted back and forth, scanning the sky for any signs of the Avatar. _Nothing! _Zuko actually screamed in frustration, drawing some curious glances from the street below him. Zuko sank to his knees on the tile of the rooftop, his whole body sagging as all his energy left him. He stayed like that for a long while until Iroh came out into the street to find him.

"Nephew?" Iroh said, breathing hard as he pulled himself up onto the roof beside Zuko who turned away from him, "what happened? I thought you would be happy we will be moving up to nicer surroundings."

"He's here," Zuko said simply and from the tone of his voice Iroh knew exactly who he was talking about. Iroh frowned to himself as Zuko held the flyer out over his head, still not turning to face his uncle. Iroh took the flyer and examined it briefly before turning his attention back to Zuko.

"Come back home with me," Iroh said, "we can talk about this there." Iroh moved towards his nephew before Zuko's words stopped him cold.

"It's not home," Zuko said softly, his voice wavering as thoughts of home came flooding back to him. Iroh placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder and he felt Zuko shiver from the contact, withdrawing further into himself.

"A wise traveller once told me that home is where your heart is and so you are never truly lost," Iroh said sagely, patting Zuko's back over his heart.

"Who told you that?" Zuko said, his head picking up a little, curiosity overcoming his melancholy.

"A nomad," Iroh mused, "Chin? Choo?" Iroh laughed softly, "it's been so long I can't recall his name…" Zuko turned to face Iroh then and Iroh could see the traces of tears on his cheeks that Zuko had done his best to wipe away.

"That's different," Zuko said, clearing his throat with a grunt, "a nomad has no home, we just can't go back to ours."

"No Zuko," Iroh said, smiling as he helped Zuko to his feet, "it's no different. He understood that as long as one was surrounded by those that care for him, then one is always home." Zuko smiled weakly at that and Iroh led him back down from the roof.

"So I was thinking about names for my new tea shop. How about the Jasmine Dragon?" Iroh mused as he finished packing his trunk with the belongings of their small apartment, "It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it." Zuko closed the door to his room behind him as he came out into the kitchen/living room. He gave Iroh a spiteful look as he made his way to the window.

"The Avatar is here in Ba Sing Se and he's lost his bison," Zuko said, closing his eyes with frustration.

"We have a chance for a new life here. If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us," Iroh told his nephew. Zuko rounded on him furiously.

"Good things that are happening for you!" Zuko accused, "Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?" Iroh frowned sadly and Zuko's face softened. _He hadn't meant to be so cruel,_ he admitted shamefully,_ he was just so frustrated that the Avatar was now so near by and that he could do nothing to capture him._

"There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity," Iroh scolded, "I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life and why."

"I want my destiny," Zuko said, his voice deflating.

"What that means is up to you," Iroh said sagely and for a brief moment an image of Jin flashed in Zuko's mind. He growled with frustration and walked off to check if they had forgotten to pack anything from the closet. "The Tea Weevil!" Iroh exclaimed as the name came to him, "no, that's stupid." He dismissed the bad idea and the name 'The Jasmine Dragon' came back to the forefront of his mind. _Ah, _Iroh thought with satisfaction, _that does have a nice ring to it…_

"So my uncle's going to run his own tea shop," Zuko said as he sat beside Jin on a park bench. Jin could tell from the tone of his voice that something was wrong and it had nothing to do with the abrupt change in his fortunes.

"You don't sound very happy about it?" Jin asked but it came out more as a concerned statement.

"I guess I'm happy for him," Zuko admitted.

"But…" Jin pressed him for more information.

"But it's not what I want in life," Zuko sighed, not sure how to explain his dilemma. "I know I was destined for something greater…" Jin took his hand in hers and she heard a small gasp escape his lips.

"I understand," she said gently.

"You do?" Zuko turned his head to face her, looking right into her big brown eyes.

"I think so. But I do have one question," Jin looked hesitant and Zuko found himself speaking.

"What is it?" he was overcome with the urge to take the hesitation from her, to help her understand or at least to put her at ease.

"Why are you so sure you understand exactly what your destiny is supposed to be?" the question felt like a punch to the gut for Zuko. His breath caught in his throat and his chest felt tight. He didn't say anything for a full minute, instead he just stared at Jin as if she had just sprouted wings.

"I don't know," he mumbled and his head felt light until Jin placed one of her hands on his cheek to steady him.

"Whatever it is," Jin told him kindly, "I hope I'm a part of it." She leaned forward slowly and placed a gentle peck on Zuko's lips before pulling away.

"Thank you," Zuko said hoarsely and Jin just smiled. Then Zuko stood up, "there's something I need to figure out." He turned to leave. "You could come over and see the new place tomorrow night if you want to," Zuko reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper before handing it to Jin, "that's the address."

"Sure thing," Jin said, still smiling but underneath she was worried. _Something is definitely off about him_, she thought but she trusted him to figure things out. "It's a date."

With that, Zuko left. He had a bison to find.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that's a bit shorter than the others but it's been a really busy week. I started taking a kung fu class over the summer and the first class was yesterday on the other side of the city so that took up a lot of my free time but it was sooooo cool :D anyways, the chapter next week should be back to regular length.

I took a few liberties with the Zuko and Iroh scenes from the episode 'Lake Laogai' because the stories have diverged a bit. They are about to go completely off the rails starting next chapter so look forward to that!

If it's not too much trouble, would you leave a review telling me what you liked and what you didn't? Also what you want to see more of and what you don't want to see at all? I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your feedback and it means a lot to me to read each and every review :) you all make my day!

**Reviews:**

**To axel100: **Thank you so much :) I actually haven't read any of the graphic novels so my story won't have any of that, so don't worry! Also starting next chapter things are going to diverge quite a bit from the show, I was planning on one of the things you suggested already but I don't want to spoil it and say which!

**To kiyoky: **Thanks :)

**To Anonymous Rex: **I'm glad you liked it :) and I'm glad the character's voices came out well! I was worried the mood shifts would be really abrupt so it's a relief to hear they went well. Zuko won't meet Jin's mother yet, that's coming later ;)

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thank you :) I actually really like to cook so I will probably write at least one more cooking scene with Zuko teaching Jin in the story later on!


	7. Chapter 7

_Leave it behind, _Zuko couldn't get his uncle's words out of his head. He staggered through the open door, his clothes stuck to his body with a layer of cold sweat. _Leave it behind_, Zuko stumbled forward, running into a wall. He struck it with his shoulder, sending a jolt of pain down his arm and through his chest. His head was on fire and he barely registered the pain radiating from his shoulder as it was lost among the soreness he was feeling all over.

"I don't feel right," Zuko mumbled out before collapsing forward. Iroh caught him before he hit the ground and carried the unconscious prince to his bed to rest. _Remember when you were small enough that I could carry you on my shoulders? _Iroh thought ruefully as he laid the prince down on top of the bed. _Of course, I was a lot younger then as well, _Iroh mused as he took a spare blanket from the closet and spread it out over Zuko's sleeping form. Iroh went to the kitchen and wet a towel before returning to Zuko's room.

They had moved into the new apartment yesterday and they were still getting settled in. Iroh had accidentally walked into the wrong room a dozen times at least and Zuko got frustrated while cooking dinner because all the cupboards and pantries were all in different places. _What a place, _Iroh thought with no small amount of wonder. _To think, when I had come to this city as a conquering general I didn't even get through the agrarian ring. Now, as a simple tea maker, I call the upper ring 'home'. _Iroh was drawn away from his musings as Zuko shivered under the thick blanket Iroh had provided for him. Iroh frowned, _Prince Zuko was perfectly healthy only a few hours ago. _Iroh stood up reluctantly and went out into the kitchen, searching through the plethora of cupboards and shelves until he found a small sealed box. _No, _Iroh thought resolutely, _this is no normal sickness. _Iroh broke the seal on the box and inhaled deeply as the thick, aged scent of the rare tea blend filled his head. _Zuko is at war with himself, _Iroh thought as he closed the box and placed it on the counter for later. Iroh knew what to do, after all, he had seen it once before.

It was dark in the room but Zuko could still see perfectly fine. _That's weird, _he thought. His mind was hazy, he realised, and any attempts to focus or think too hard were impossible. The room was small. There was a stove and a counter with a sink in the corner with a few cupboards. Along one wall were three doors and a single door along the adjacent wall. In the middle was a table with two chairs. _Where am I? _Zuko wondered, the creeping feeling that he knew exactly where he at the forefront of his mind. _Home?_

He blinked and there was a light from beneath the single door. _The exit,_ Zuko corrected. He found himself walking toward the light, his feet shuffling awkwardly across the bare wooden floor. He stopped before the door, reaching out with his hand to touch the door knob. It was hot to the touch and Zuko pulled his hand away quickly as a jolt of pain told him his palm was burnt. _What?_ Zuko thought groggily. He shook his head slowly in an attempt to get a hold of himself. He hadn't been burned since he was a little boy. _Except for the agni kai, _he shuddered involuntarily, pushing the memory out of his mind. Ever since he had learned to firebend as a child he could control the energy in his body to avoid being burned by flames. It was the only way that firebenders could wield fire so close to their bodies without being burned. Zuko took a deep breath and reached out for the doorknob again. This time it didn't burn him and he relaxed a fraction before turning the knob and pushing the door open.

The light beyond was blinding and Zuko had to resist the urge to slam the door closed again. Somehow he knew that if he closed it it wouldn't have opened again. He took a hesitant step through the threshold and his feet felt sunbaked flagstone beneath his shoes. The smell of the air, the sounds of native birds, and the low, muffled sounds from far off told him exactly where he was. _The Fire Lord's Palace, _Zuko stood perfectly still as if any motion would fix the attention of the entire palace on him. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sun he noticed he was in a courtyard and the courtyard was completely empty.

"Hello Zuko," a familiar female voice called from behind him. He spun around, slipping into a fighting stance. "What's the matter?" Azula asked with feigned puzzlement as she walked casually out into the courtyard.

"Azula!" Zuko flinched from the effort of exerting himself. Azula giggled in her taunting way.

"Oh, Zu Zu," she glided across the courtyard so she was only a few paces from her brother. "Why are you always so hostile with me?" Zuko grimaced in reply, not wanting to say anything for fear of giving his sister a potential angle for attack. "Come on," Azula said with false sweetness, "we're family. If you can't be nice to me, then who can you be nice to?" Azula moved quickly behind Zuko and when he spun around to face her she was gone. In her place was Jin, her face a mask of hurt and confusion. She looked at Zuko with shock and Zuko looked down at himself to see he was wearing the robes of the crown prince of the Fire Nation.

"Jin! I can explain," Zuko took a step forward but Jin took a step backward, flinching as he raised his hand toward her.

"How could you lie to me?" Jin said weakly as tears filled her eyes. Zuko felt his heart breaking in his chest and the pain of it nearly made him keel over.

"Please," it came out as barely a whisper. Zuko felt his own eyes filling with tears as the sight of Jin became too much for him to bear.

"You're just like her," Jin said, taking another step back as Zuko took a step forward, raising an accusing finger at him.

"No!" Zuko shouted with intensity that scared even him and he stepped forward, a jet of flames flashing out from his extended hand and consuming Jin.

Zuko awoke screaming. Iroh nearly fell out of his chair at Zuko's side as Zuko shot upright so that he was sitting up on the bed. His muscles screamed in protest and he fell back down so that he was lying down on the bed again. Iroh fixed the blankets so that they were covering Zuko before he spoke.

"It's alright, nephew," Iroh said soothingly, "it was just a nightmare."

"Uncle…" Zuko's voice was weak and uneven when he spoke, "I...I...she was there." Zuko babbled incoherently for a few moments before he was asleep again. Iroh dabbed the wet cloth on his forehead to cool him down. It was another half hour before Zuko awoke again, this time less violently than the last.

"You're burning up," Iroh told him, dipping the cloth in water again before placing it on Zuko's forehead, "you have an intense fever. This will help cool you down."

"So thirsty," Zuko managed to say, though his voice was still weak and raspy. Zuko tried to sit up, despite his body aching in protest, but Iroh made him lie back down. Instead, Iroh reached beside the bed to the bucket of drinking water he had prepared after the last time Zuko had woken up. He dipped a large spoon into the water and held it up as he helped Zuko sit up slightly so he could drink.

"Here's some clean water to drink," Iroh said to get Zuko's attention as the youth threatened to fall asleep again. "Stay under the blankets and sweat this out." To Iroh's surprise, Zuko took the spoon from his hand and gulped the water down in an instant. He tossed the spoon aside haphazardly before reaching over the side of the bed and grabbing the bucket of drinking water. Zuko's strength failed him as he tried to lift the bucket off of the ground so instead he leaned over the side of bed and dunked his head into the bucket, drinking as much as he could. He threatened to fall over the side of the bed so Iroh rested a hand on his shoulder to stabilize him as Zuko drank and drank. Soon the bucket was light enough to lift even with Zuko's diminished strength and he tilted it so that he could drink the last of the water from the bucket before tossing it aside.

"Thank you," Zuko managed to say, his throat burning from the cool water. Iroh smiled as he helped his nephew lie back down on the bed, once again fixing the covers.

"Sleep," Iroh told Zuko softly, "I'll be here when you wake up." Zuko said nothing but his eyes closed and after a few moments his breathing became soft and regular and Iroh knew he was asleep. Iroh felt a pang of sorrow overtake him as the sight reminded him of happier times, when the Fire Nation's rising star general would watched over a young boy and girl for his younger brother who was off on business with his wife. Zuko had been so carefree in those days and it broke Iroh's heart to see the boy grow into a young man full of anger and grief. Iroh steeled himself, _maybe after today, Zuko can be happy…_

Zuko was in a familiar place. It was the throne room of the Fire Nation palace except he was seeing it from an unfamiliar perspective. _What am I doing on father's throne? _Zuko wondered as his hand subconsciously reached up to feel the crown resting on his head. _Am I the Fire Lord? _There was a gust of hot air as two dragons approached him, curling through the air on either side of the throne like exquisite fish swimming in elaborate loops. The dragons, one red and one blue, wrapped themselves on the stone pillars on either side of the throne dias.

"It's getting late," the blue dragon began circling around Zuko and he heard Azula's voice in his head, "are you planning to retire soon, my lord?"

_My lord? _Zuko thought with surprise. _No, _his mind was becoming fuzzy again and he struggled to keep this thoughts straight, _if I'm Fire Lord than that means father is…_ something was wrong and it made Zuko's hair stand on edge.

"I'm not tired," he said guardedly as the blue dragon rested its head beside his, as if to whisper into his ear.

"Relax, Fire Lord Zuko," Azula's voice said inside his head, "Just let go. Give in to it. Shut your eyes for a while." Despite himself, Zuko began closing his eyes until the other dragon spoke.

"No, Fire Lord Zuko!" the red dragon spoke with Iroh's voice, "Do not listen to the blue dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!" the red dragon came closer, poised opposite the blue dragon and the room began to crumble away to nothing.

"Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko," the blue dragon said softly as both dragons disappeared. The room was gone now and the throne floated in nothingness for a moment before the blue dragon reappeared before Zuko. "Sleep," it opened its mouth as its voice became harsher, "just like mother!" The dragon charged at Zuko and Zuko's heart stopped as he saw his mother's face within the beast's maw.

"Zuko! Help me!" Ursa looked up at her son for an instant before the dragon closed its jaws and everything turned to black.

Zuko's eyes opened wide, the sound of his heart beating drowning out the world beyond his bed. He breathed a few raspy breaths as his eyes darted back and forth. His fingers hurt as they dug into the mattress beneath him. _What's happening to me?_

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you're enjoying the story so far :) It's been a lot of fun to write and the response from all of you has been amazing!

So this chapter takes partially from the episode 'The Earth King' and the rest is all me. I have a lot of fun writing dream/trippy sequences and if you liked it you might also like the chapter of my other story, Six Weeks in Ba Sing Se, where Sokka goes to the Spirit World to confront his fears of loss (shameless self promotion :P ), so check that out if you want to :)

As always, let me know what you liked, what you didn't, and what you want to see happen with the story! I love reading reviews from all of you and I take everything you say into account when writing the rest of the story.

**Reviews:**

**To Mee-Mee: **Thank you so much :) heh, I'm glad to hear I can further the Jinko cause!

**To bunjeepanda: **Thank you for your kind words :) I'm glad that you've found the story so enjoyable so far and I'll continue to strive toward building the relationship between Zuko and Jin as believably as I can. Also Iroh is going to get some more backstory as of next chapter so stay tuned for that!

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint :)

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thanks for the critique! I'll go back and grammar check the story when I get the chance, just this week has a been really busy at work so I haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I can say that things will be very different from what happens in the show :P


	8. Chapter 8

Iroh stood impatiently before the kitchen counter as the tea steeped. It was the special blend he had taken out earlier and the sweet smell filled the large apartment. Iroh had kept his supply for just such an event but if he was being truthful, he had doubted that he would have ever had to use it. _That's not strictly true, _Iroh thought, _ever since that business at the North Pole, there has been hope for Zuko._

It had been nearly seven years ago when General Iroh, Commander of the First Army, Dragon of the West, had laid siege to Ba Sing Se. For six hundred days the Fire Nation's First Army assaulted the walls of the impregnable city. Unlike any other city, it was impossible for the besiegers to simply wait out the defenders of Ba Sing Se since within the outer wall was plentiful farmland that could have kept the people inside supplied for the foreseeable future. General Iroh had requested every engineering corps in the the Fire Nation be assigned to the siege so they could try to undermine the walls but every time they began another tunnel the earthbenders behind the walls would collapse it and they would have to start over again.

Because the Serpent's Pass formed a natural choke point between the East and West Lakes, the Fire Navy was unable to break through the Earth Kingdom's blockade and help Iroh's troops by shelling the walls with their siege weaponry. All Iroh had at his disposal had been small catapults which could barely make a dent in the mighty stone walls and those dents were quickly fixed by a cadre of earthbenders that repaired the wall throughout the siege.

All in all the siege had been a nightmare, soldiers were hurled at the walls in attempts to scale them but each attack was repelled with heavy losses. The great General Iroh hadn't cared, he had been too focused on taking the city and adding another achievement to his already considerable renown. For nearly two years, General Iroh had pushed his men to their limits and each day more died. Then one day, as if by some miracle, an opportunity had presented itself. Iroh's son, Lu Ten, would lead the decisive strike. Lu Ten, Iroh's one and only son. The attack managed to breach the outer wall, a feat that had never before been accomplished by any attacker, and General Iroh had been thrilled to learn that his son had been successful. However, it had been Lieutenant Zhong, Lu Ten's second, who brought the news of their success to General Iroh's command tent. Lu Ten had died in the attack.

Iroh swallowed, his throat feeling tight and his breath becoming hot as the memory of that fateful day became overwhelming. He blinked to clear his vision as tears welled up in his eyes and he took a few breaths to calm himself. _Zuko needs me, _Iroh told himself firmly. The tea was nearly steeped, so Iroh wiped his eyes before pouring a cup for his sick nephew. Zuko began to stir as Iroh returned to his room with the teacup in his hand.

"Uncle?" Zuko managed to say and Iroh could tell that he was weak. He came to stand beside the bed, holding the tea cup so Zuko could take a sip.

"You should know that this is not a natural sickness," Iroh began somberly, "but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea." Zuko drank the offered tea thirstily before speaking.

"What's happening?"

"Your critical decision," Iroh explained as Zuko took another sip, "what you did beneath that lake. It was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body." Zuko finished the tea and Iroh took the cup away.

"What's that mean?" Zuko asked weakly before a fit of coughing racked his body. He lied back down with exhaustion.

"You are going through a metamorphosis, my nephew," Iroh wet the cloth beside Zuko's bed and used it to dab his head of sweat, "it will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be." Zuko murmured something in response but he was asleep again before he could repeat whatever it was that he had meant to say. Iroh went back to the kitchen to pour more tea. It was very fortunate that he had saved some after the five long years since his own metamorphosis.

After General Iroh had received word of his son's death he had been devastated. That night he wandered out into the woods beyond the besiegers' camp and stumbled through the forest aimlessly until well past midnight. He came to a clearing miles from the outer wall when he simply stopped. He sat down on a patch of long grass and looked up at the sky and he wept for his lost son.

He thought over his life and what had led him to this place. He wondered what it had all been for and why he had sacrificed so much in the name of glory and prestige. He had become furious with himself and with the war and with the whole world. He had become broken by a sadness that only a parent who had to bury their child could understand. When he rose again from that clearing his mind was made up. The siege was over and his beleaguered troops would be going home. But he would not be going with him.

The next day the siege ended and Iroh wrote a letter home explaining the situation to his father, Fire Lord Azulon. Then he set off alone, not knowing where he was going. He managed to walk a full day before collapsing in a heap by the side of some anonymous road. It was there that he had been discovered by Lady He, who had taken him back to her home and nursed him through his ordeal. It was she who had calmed his spiritual energy with her healing blend of tea, the same blend that Iroh had just given Zuko. The body is strong, she had told him, but sometimes the toils of the spirit are too much for it to bear. After Iroh, just Iroh now, had recovered they had discussed the state of the world for a long time. Lady He had been very well informed for a rural healer and she had known who Iroh was, who he had been. After seeing just how much Iroh had changed, it was Lady He who had inducted Iroh into the Order of the White Lotus.

A knock at the door brought Iroh out of his reverie. _Who could that be? _Iroh readied himself for the worst as he approached the door cautiously. He peered through the peephole on the door, these things were common in the wealthy and paranoid upper ring, and to his shock it was Jin. _What is she doing here now? _Iroh wondered for a moment before putting on his best smile and opening the door.

"Hello, young lady," Iroh said warmly, "what brings you here?"

"Oh," Jin sighed with relief as she put a small piece of paper into her pocket. _Directions, _Iroh thought. "Lee invited me to see the new place," Jin said but her voice was hesitant. She could tell something was odd. "Is he in?"

"He's very sick," Iroh told her apologetically.

"Oh, well could I just stop in and say hello?" Jin offered, trying to hide her disappointment.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea," Iroh said, "it's not pretty." Iroh rubbed his stomach queasily for emphasis and Jin's face fell.

"I see," Jin said dejectedly and Iroh could tell she was upset.

"Why don't you come in for a cup of tea," Iroh offered, "I would love to get a chance to get to know you if you are going to be dating my nephew."

"Right," Jin said too quickly. _I hope that didn't come across as threatening, _Iroh frowned as he led her inside.

"It's certainly much larger than your old place," Jin mused as they made their way through the living room to the kitchen.

"In my experience I've found that the size of the home is not as important as the people under its roof," Iroh told her sagely and Jin nodded. "Now, just let me find the tea cupboard…" Iroh began searching the multitude of cupboards and pantries for the boxed tea leaves. Meanwhile, Jin walked over to the stove.

"Why don't we just have this?" Jin asked, picking up the teapot and breathing deeply, "it smells wonderful."

"Ah," Iroh exclaimed, trying his best to keep a calm expression, rushing over and taking the pot from Jin's hands. "Oh, no, you don't want any of that…" he said lamely as Jin fixed him with an odd stare. "It's for my...um...digestion!" Iroh lied. Jin frowned as Iroh set the pot aside.

"I see," Jin said, sitting down at the small breakfast table. Iroh found the tea after a few moments of searching and he set some water to boil.

"I don't think we've been introduced," Iroh said, sitting opposite Jin at the breakfast table. "My name is Mushi."

"I'm Jin," Jin said, "but you already knew that."

"Yes, my nephew is always talking about you," Iroh gave Jin a warm smile which she returned with visible relief.

"Really?" she asked, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

"Oh yes," Iroh told her truthfully, "I've never seen him so enamored."

"Good, good," Jin looked off into space for a moment before turning back to Iroh. "Congratulations on your recent success!"

"Thank you!" Iroh beamed, "the Jasmine Dragon's grand opening is tomorrow. It's all very exciting."

"I'm glad things are going so well for you and for Lee," Jin said with a smile.

"Yes," Iroh mused, "I'm beginning to think that coming to Ba Sing Se was the best thing that has happened to us in a long time…" Jin gave him a quizzical look, "...because we have been refugees for so long, of course!" Iroh smiled nervously. The water was boiling and Iroh excused himself to make the tea. He returned to the table and placed a cup of oolong tea in front of Jin and one in front of himself. Jin's stomach grumbled loudly and she gave Iroh an apologetic look.

"Sorry," Jin explained, "I haven't eaten dinner yet. I was hoping Lee was willing to cook something."

"I could make something," Iroh offered but Jin shook her head. "Please, it would be rude for a host not to provide his guest with a hot meal!" Iroh stood up and began searching through the kitchen for any ingredients. Unfortunately, they hadn't stocked up on supplies for the new apartment yet so all there was was some uncooked rice and half a bottle of milk.

"It's fine, really," Jin offered but her stomach rumbled again and Iroh frowned for a moment before an idea struck.

"Ha!" Iroh exclaimed, "It's nothing fancy but I can make some jook if you'd like?"

"What's jook?" Jin asked.

"What?" Iroh was surprised, "you've never had it?"

"No," Jin told him unapologetically. Iroh frowned, it was a staple in the Fire Nation. Perhaps it was uncommon in the Earth Kingdom.

"Jook is a rice porridge," Iroh explained as he washed the rice in a cooking pot, "I make it with milk to add flavor!" He set the rice on the stove to cook.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Jin said with a smile. _If Lee learned how to cook from his uncle, then his uncle must be a really good cook, _she thought.

A quarter of an hour later, Iroh was adding the milk to the cooked rice, turning up the head on the stove to boil out some of the water in the milk to make the jook thicker.

"It smells great," Jin admitted as she hovered over Iroh's shoulder, watching the food cook.

"For such a simple dish, it is very good," Iroh told her. "If we had some cinnamon…" Iroh smacked his lips for emphasis and Jin couldn't help but laugh at his antics. The sound of Zuko's door opening drew both of their attentions.

"What's that smell?" Zuko asked, leaning on the door for support. He froze stiff as he saw Jin standing in the kitchen. His face was a mask of fear and he found himself unable to speak, the nightmares still fresh in his mind.

"Lee!" Jin either didn't know what was troubling him or didn't care as she rushed across the kitchen and grabbed Zuko in a firm embrace. He was stunned for a moment, standing there dumbly, before he closed his arms around her and held her close.

"Jin," he said into her shoulder, his head resting against her. "What are you doing here?" Jin leaned back from him, still holding onto the hug but fixing him with an annoyed look.

"I'm beginning to think I got the day wrong or something," Jin's scowl melted into a warm smile and she gave Zuko a quick kiss on the cheek. Iroh coughed awkwardly behind them causing them to let go of each other with incredible speed.

"It's jook," Iroh answered Zuko's original question as he and Jin came back to the stove, "I'm sure you wouldn't like it."

"Actually," Zuko leaned over to sniff the bubbling rice porridge, "it smells delicious. I'd love a bowl, uncle." Zuko held out a bowl but Jin stepped between him and Iroh.

"Hey," she chided, "I was here first." She gave Zuko a smile which caused him to roll his eyes in mock frustration.

"Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow," Iroh mused as he filled each of their bowls.

"It's a new day," Zuko said optimistically, "we've got a new apartment, Jin is here with us, and tomorrow is the grand opening of your new tea shop." The trio moved to the table to sit down. "Things are looking up, uncle." Iroh smiled at his nephew and they all chowed down.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

Hi everyone! I hope you liked this chapter since it was a bit heavier than usual. I just had the idea of giving Iroh some backstory explaining how he knew how to deal with Zuko's spiritual transformation, plus I love writing Iroh since he's one of my two favourite characters (tied with Toph)! Next time it will be funnier, I promise. So please stick with it.

I was also thinking of doing my next major fic (might write a few short ones in between) about Iroh's life before the show. Would that be cool? Is anybody interested in that? If so, please let me know.

Thank you all for your continued reading, it means more to me than I thought it could when I started writing fan fic just about a month and a half ago. Well, I'm clearly addicted now since I've written almost 80k words in six weeks :P Eh, I'm rambling but in all seriousness, thank you all so much. It makes my day to know that I can share a little bit more of the Gaang with all of you :)

**Reviews:**

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thank you so much for the review :) Your encouraging words have helped a lot with this story. Every time I get stuck or I think my last chapter was terrible, you are there to keep me on my feet. Thank you.

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thank you for the critique :) I can understand where you're coming from about not much happening in this chapter plotwise. That said, I wanted to explore Zuko's fears and doubts a bit more with this chapter and the dream stuff needed a whole chapter on its own so I hope you understand! It's always good to read constructive criticism so keep it coming!


	9. Chapter 9

"I thought Lee was sick?" Jin asked absently, finishing off her second bowl of juke.

"I'm feeling a lot better," Zuko answered, smiling warmly at her, "better than I've felt in a long time." Iroh gave his nephew a sideways glance, worried about just how much Zuko was going to say about their shared past.

"Well," Jin said, seemingly accepting the statement at face value, "I'm glad to hear it." She was seated next to Zuko at the table with Iroh opposite the two. She reached over and placed one of her hands in one of Zuko's and Iroh smiled with fatherly affection at the display. Rather than withdraw with embarrassment though, Zuko simply gave Jin's hand a squeeze.

"I'm glad as well," Iroh told them truthfully. He had been worried for Zuko's well being during his transformation. As Lady He had once told him, there is only so much the body can take. _Perhaps now Zuko can turn over a new leaf, _Iroh hoped with all his heart.

"Uncle," Zuko began, "would it be alright if we invited Jin to come to the grand opening of the Jasmine Dragon tomorrow?" Iroh smiled broadly.

"Of course," he chuckled at the sentiment, "she is our most valuable customer!"

"Thank you both," Jin said humbly, "I would be honored. Provided my mom lets me take the morning off work, that is."

"Well if not," Zuko told her, placing his other hand over top of hers so that he was cupping her hand in both of his, "we'll save you a seat for lunch."

"Thanks," Jin said, looking out the window and frowning, "it's getting late. I should be getting home." Iroh gave Zuko a meaningful look.

"Oh! Yes, right," Zuko spat out, "would you like me to walk you home?" This got a different meaningful look from Iroh. "I mean, it would be my honor if you allowed me to walk you home?" the question in his voice was aimed at both of them. Iroh nodded sagely at his nephew's display of chivalry.

"Thanks," Jin accepted, "I don't really know my way around this part of the city very well. I had to ask for directions about a dozen times just to find this place." Zuko smiled at that. The prospect of being lost with Jin sounded wonderful. _Well, _Zuko corrected himself, _spending time with her will be nice, not being lost._ Zuko shrugged and Jin gave him a questioning look.

"Not being lost," Zuko said out loud, earning quizzical looks from Iroh and Jin. Zuko's eyes were wide and he mumbled something incoherent before gathering his wits, "sorry. Did I say that out loud?" Jin and Iroh nodded in unison. "Uh, nevermind." Normally Zuko would have been livid with embarrassment at making such an awkward slip up but tonight he just didn't feel it. _Yep, _Zuko thought to himself, _something's definitely different. _Zuko nodded sagely to himself, causing Jin and Iroh to look at each other with worry.

"Nephew," Iroh ventured, "are you sure you're alright?" Zuko nodded.

"Are you going to be okay walking me home?" Jin asked half-heartedly. She wanted him to feel better but if she was being totally honest with herself, she really wanted to spend the time with him.

"I'm fine," Zuko looked at each of them in turn, "really, I'm fine."

Zuko and Jin walked down the brightly lit streets of the upper ring of Ba Sing Se and Jin couldn't help but marvel at the stately homes and lush parks they passed by. The streets were much better illuminated than those in the lower ring, Jin noted, so it was easier to take in the sights than it would have been had there been less light.

"Some of these places," she broke the comfortable silence that she and Zuko had been sharing, "...I don't know. Can you believe it?" Zuko nodded, he had been accustomed to palaces all his life. Jin gave him a quizzical look that showed she expected him to elaborate.

"Well," Zuko began, not sure of what to say, "I've...uh...seen some pretty fancy places...when I was younger." This caused Jin's brow to furrow.

"I thought you'd never been to Ba Sing Se before?" she mused, thinking for a moment before speaking, "oh! You must have been to Omashu, right?" Zuko was taken aback. _Gah! Why don't I just give away our whole cover story? _he chided himself.

"Oh, yeah," Zuko said sheepishly, "my parents took me there when I was a kid." Jin seemed to accept this and nodded before returning to look at all the fancy architecture.

"So," she began, unsure of how to broach the subject, "do you have any other family besides your uncle?" Zuko made a sound somewhere between a cough and a growl that took Jin by surprise.

"I haven't seen my father in years," Zuko's voice was far away and Jin gave him a squeeze with her arm which was around his waist as they walked. "And I have a sister," he admitted after a few moments of silence, "we don't get along. We never have."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jin said with genuine sadness that caused Zuko to turn to look at her. He stopped walking and she stopped beside him. He pulled her into a tight hug, his arms resting firmly on her back and his cheek pressing lightly on hers. Her arms rested in the small of his back and she sighed deeply.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked her, pulling back so he could look at her but still holding on to her shoulders.

"No," she told him, "my parents might have had another child but my dad died when I was little." Her voice was frail and Zuko saw a side of her that he hadn't seen before. He had seen her be unsure, or upset, or insecure even, but never so...down. From the time he had first met her, Jin had always bounced right back from every misstep or social faux pas. Zuko's cheeks felt hot as he remembered their disastrous first date. It was as if somebody had let all the air out of her and Zuko didn't like it one bit.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said, pulling her into another hug which she returned. "I understand what it's like to lose someone close to you. I lost my mother a few years ago."

She said nothing and they stayed like that for what seemed like hours but was probably more like a few minutes.

"Jin?" Zuko broke the silence. She pulled back from their hug to look at him, her face floating a few inches from his. "I'm sorry I made you upset."

"It's not your fault," she admitted, struggling to maintain eye contact, "I guess...I guess I haven't stopped and faced how it makes me feel. It's stupid but maybe I thought that if I just ignored it then it would go away." There were tears in Jin's eyes now and she blinked them away furiously. Zuko felt his heart breaking in his chest and he felt the overwhelming urge to say something to make it all better. _But what can I say? _he wondered, his mind racing frantically for some piece of common ground that he could use to relate to her, to help her understand that what she felt was normal and it was alright.

"Before we came to the city," Zuko began, his voice tight and tense. Jin looked up at him intently, her curiosity about his past temporarily overcoming her sadness. Zuko faltered under her gaze and he wasn't sure he could continue until Jin reached down and took both of his hands in hers, giving them a firm, comforting squeeze. "Before we came to Ba Sing Se," Zuko began again, steeling himself, "my uncle and I had been travelling for a few years, three years actually, and all of that time I was searching for something. You see, well, my father sent me away and he told me I couldn't come home until I found...this thing. The whole time I was looking for...this thing…" Zuko stumbled over the words, trying his best to censor anything that would give away who he really was before he said it, "I thought that finding it would be able to win back my father's love, that it could restore my honor…" Jin's eyes were fixed on his and it made him swallow, his throat suddenly very dry as memories of the North Pole, of the chase that ended with his uncle being struck by lightning, and of the suffering he had seen that had been caused by his father's war came rushing to the forefront of his mind.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Jin asked hesitantly, her voice barely a whisper. Zuko choked out a humorless laugh.

"No," he admitted, "all that time I thought...I _knew_...that finding this thing and restoring my honor was my destiny." Jin frowned but Zuko gave her a warm smile that surprised her. "But since we came to this city, I've taken a step back from it all and I think that my destiny might be what I make it. Maybe, maybe it's here. With you."

Jin's eyes went wider, which she didn't think was possible. She began breathing quickly and her jaw locked up. Her legs felt weak and wobbly and her arms went slack, only Lee's firm grip on her hands holding them up. She felt something in her chest, something that crushed all the life out of her and a layer of cold sweat was forming on her skin.

"I love you!" she yelled so loudly that Zuko flinched and a few people stuck their heads out their windows to see what was going on from the nearby buildings. She didn't care. The crushing feeling in her chest became worse and she had no idea how she was still standing in the intervening seconds when Lee said nothing and it felt to Jin like she was hanging on the ledge of a high cliff, waiting to fall.

"I love you too," Zuko said, his voice sounding half relieved and half surprised with the understanding of what the drastic changes he had been feeling over the last week had been leading up to. _I'm in love, _Zuko thought giddily. _What? _the more rational part of his mind tried to cut in, _you are the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation! You do not get giddy! _But that voice was drowned out as Jin leaned forward, tilting her head upwards, and her lips pressed gently against his.

Her lips were soft and warm and Zuko could feel the heat of her breath as she breathed a deep sigh from her nose. He reached up and cupped her face in one hand, running his fingers along her cheek gently while his other hand ran through her jet black hair.

Jin's head was a rush of emotion. All the bad feelings, the hesitation, the uncertainty, that had been there just seconds before had evaporated and been replaced by a rush of lightness. She felt as if she could fly, like there was nothing she couldn't do. So she had kissed him. His lips were dry and slightly cracked but they were also warm and supple and she found herself kissing him harder. He ran a hand through her hair and his fingers brushed lightly against her cheek and down her jawline and it caused her to shiver involuntarily, a chill running down her spine despite the warm night air. She ran her hands along his back and across his firm shoulders, pulling his as close as possible. _I'm in love, _she thought giddily. _But you barely know this guy? _the more rational part of her brain tried to chime in, _what about his past? There's so much you don't know. _She blocked out the voice in her head firmly, _whatever, whoever Lee was, all that matters is who is here and now._

The kiss lasted for what seemed like only a short time to the two lovers but in reality it lasted for nearly fifteen minutes. They only stopped when the some wise guy called from a nearby building with the suggestion that they 'get a room'. Embarrassed but still elated, they continued on their walk.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

It happened! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sorry it came out a few hours later than usual, I worked late last night.

So I think this story will go up to the end of 'Crossroads of Destiny', which means there will still be a few chapters to go between now and then. Next chapter will be the grand opening of the Jasmine Dragon, with one key difference. See if you can guess what it will be ;)

I just wanted to thank all of you for your continued support and readership. It makes me so happy to be able to share this story with all of you and 'Our Most Valuable Customer' has reached nearly 2000 views! :D that's actually incredible...I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't have the traffic stats in front of me.

Please let me know what you liked and didn't like about this chapter since it's only my second time writing a big 'I love you'/first kiss scene, the first being in 'Six Weeks in Ba Sing Se' (shameless self promotion :P ), and I'm not sure if it came out exactly right. As always, please offer any suggestions you would like to see in the rest of the story and more importantly what you don't want to see :) speaking of which...

**Reviews: **

**Anonymous Rex: **Thank you so much! :) I'm glad Iroh's backstory didn't come across as too melodramatic or rushed since I put a lot of information into such a short flashback!

**Kiyoky: **Thanks for your support :) I will definitely see what I can do about writing Iroh's backstory in my next big fic!

**bunkeepanda: **Thanks! :) posting 2x/week has been tough but I think it's good practice for any writer to get into the habit of being able to keep to regular updates! You read Six Weeks in Ba Sing Se?! Awesome :D I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like how I brought Jin back to the story this chapter.

**ZukoWithHair: **Thank you :) I'm glad you liked it better than Ch7 despite, like you said, little happens plotwise. I actually did leave Jet out of the story since keeping track of so many characters is tough and I didn't want to distract from the main story. There will be some pretty radical changes that Jin's presence will have next chapter! Just wait and see ;)


	10. Chapter 10

_Today's the day, _Zuko thought happily as he walked down the bustling streets of the upper ring with Iroh. Iroh began humming a tune that Zuko recognized as 'The Wind Under The Dragon's Wings', a cheerful sea shanty that Zuko's old ship's crew would sing on occasion. The morning was cooler than it had been for the last few days and the people Iroh and Zuko passed by seemed to be reinvigorated as they went about their business. Iroh would wave or offer a neighborly smile to those that passed close by and Zuko did his best to follow suit despite the fact that his 'friendly' smile needed work and came across more as a painful grimace.

"Uncle, do you think anybody will recognize the tune you're humming?" Zuko asked, half worried.

"Perhaps," Iroh laughed, "in the Earth Kingdom, they call this tune 'The Moon Rises over the Desert'!" Zuko gave his uncle an odd look, "you see nephew, though the four nations are divided by borders on a map, they share much of their history and culture. Lyrics might change but the melody…" Iroh began humming louder and a passerby joined him briefly before turning down a different street.

"I see," Zuko said thoughtfully.

"Though I expect you've come to realise this on your own," Iroh gave Zuko a knowing glance that made him raise an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not exactly like I've been immersing myself in the culture or anything…" Zuko rubbed the back of his head absently.

"What about Jin?" Iroh chuckled warmly, "you two don't seem to have any problem getting along despite your...different upbringings." Zuko shrugged and made a noncommittal noise.

They rounded a busy corner and the sight before them caused them both to stop still.

"Is that…"

"It's incredible!"

"That can't be it…"

"I think it is, nephew."

Before them stood the Jasmine Dragon in all its splendor. In front of the building was a square fountain with an earthen water feature that ran with clean, clear water. From the fountain it was a few paces to the stone steps that led up to the main entrance, flanked on either side by a hostess dressed in a fashionable yellow and green dress. The door itself was a natural wooden colour that complimented the dark green paint that covered the walls. There were several windows on the front face of the building, two circular windows with fine wooden fixtures that flanked the main entrance and over a dozen more practical windows that would keep the place cool by allowing the breeze to pass through the building. All this was under a tiered roof of clay tiles, below which hung a large sign that read 'The Jasmine Dragon'.

"Good morning, boss," a man appeared at Iroh's side, dressed in a green and yellow uniform with a small hat.

"Uh, good morning," Iroh said when he realised that the man was talking to him. "My name is Mushi."

"I'm Shun," the man said, offering Iroh a low bow which Iroh returned. "I'm to be your assistant manager, unless you had someone else in mind for the job?" Shun gave Zuko a guarded look.

"Oh, no," Zuko said shyly, "I'm just here to serve tea." Suddenly, Shun was all smiles.

"Well then, if you'll follow me," he gestured toward the Jasmine Dragon, "I'll show you around." Iroh followed Shun into the teashop, followed by Zuko as Shun rattled off the many things that he had gone through the trouble of organizing ahead of time so that the grand opening could go ahead on schedule.

The grand opening had been a great success so far and it was still early in the day. Iroh stood at the back of the Jasmine Dragon, observing the employees that Shun had hired, busy at work.

"Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I'd end up owning my own tea shop?" Iroh gave his nephew a warm smile, "Follow your passion, Zuko, and life will reward you."

"Congratulations, uncle," Zuko replied and truthfully he was very happy for Iroh's success. Somehow since his, for lack of a better word, sickness he had come to realise just how much he wanted for his uncle to be happy.

"I am very thankful," Iroh said.

"You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city," Zuko proclaimed warmly.

"No, I'm thankful because you decided to share this special day with me. It means more than you know," Iroh said, holding out his arms. Without thinking, Zuko found himself reaching out and taking his uncle in a warm embrace.

"I know," Zuko said as they separated. He paused for a moment, working out just what he was going to say, "for the last three years, you've been like a father to me…" Zuko coughed to clear his throat, "and…" he sniffed, "...I'm glad to see you achieve your dreams." For a reply, Iroh hugged Zuko again.

"You've grown so much since we came to this city," Iroh said, his voice uneven, "it's more than I could have hoped for."

"Thank you, uncle," Zuko said cheerfully as they parted, "now let's make these people some tea!"

"Yes, let's make some tea," Iroh said but someone caught his eye. "Jin! You were able to join us?"

"My mom wasn't happy about me leaving work for the morning but she understood," Jin said as she approached the two. "Hi sweetie," she leaned over and gave Zuko a light kiss.

"I'm glad you could be here," Zuko told her, taking her hands in his. "Do you want some tea?" Jin gave him a mischievous grin.

"No thanks," she said confidently, "I'm here to help!" Iroh and Zuko exchanged glances. "That is, if you want me?"

"Of course," Iroh told her, "an extra pair of hands will make things go more smoothly. I'll see if Shun has any spare uniforms."

The weather had turned colder than it had been in the morning and it had put Katara in a great mood. _Finally, _she breathed the cool air in with relish, _a break from all this heat! _After living in arctic conditions her whole life, the hot summer of Ba Sing Se had really been getting to her. That was why today she had decided to take advantage of the weather to go out for a cup of tea in the city. She hummed an arctic hippo hunting tune that her father had taught her and Sokka when they were young. _I think it was called 'The Arctic Hen Gets Up at Dawn_', Katara thought idly as she walked down the street, momo chittering happily on her shoulder.

"This looks like a good place," she pointed at an ornate looking teashop with a large 'Grand Opening' banner hanging from the doorway. "'The Jasmine Dragon?'" Katara said the name aloud. _That's an odd name for a shop in the Earth Kingdom, _she thought. "What do you say, Momo? A cup of tea before we get back to the king?" Katara asked the winged lemur, who chittered his approval. She reached into her robe's pocket to make sure she had enough money for such a fancy looking place and after she was satisfied that she did, she went inside. "Table for two, please," she told the hostess waiting inside, gesturing to Momo who would be her company. Then she heard a voice that froze the blood in her veins.

"Uncle!" she turned to see him, confirming her fears, "I need two jasmine, one green, and one lychee!" _Zuko, _she thought bitterly, _but then where's…_

"I'm brewing as fast as I can!" came the reply from the kitchen. _They're both here, _Katara realised in horror, _I need to warn the king right away!_

"I've never seen a teashop so busy before," it was a girl's voice, probably the same age as Katara. She watched in horror as the girl approached Zuko.

"Have you worked in many teashops then?" Zuko said teasingly and the girl giggled.

"Just the one," the girl mused, "but I've had tea in plenty, remember?" she said that last part meaningfully and Zuko's face coloured slightly. _What is going on here?! _Katara's mind was racing with the possibilities. _Zuko and Iroh are here to infiltrate the city and capture Aang, _that much Katara knew for sure, _but who's she? _

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Zuko asked, but his voice was...soft? Katara blinked.

"Nope," the girl teased before leaning over and planting a kiss on Zuko's cheek. Katara nearly yelled right there in the teashop. The only thing that stopped her was the thought of sparing this poor, unfortunate girl the embarrassment of discovering that she was being used by Zuko and Iroh in their diabolical scheme to capture the Avatar. _I need to warn her, _Katara thought firmly. Foiling Zuko's scheme could wait.

"Excuse me miss," Jin approached the dark skinned girl who was sitting with, _is that a lemur?, _a menu in her hand. "Are you ready to order?"

"Please, you need to listen to me," Katara said gravely.

"Okay," Jin said, putting on her best understanding smile, "what would you like to order? The special for today is jasmine tea."

"I'm here to warn you about him," Katara whispered the last word and it made Jin frown. _What is she talking about? _Jin wondered and she was about to call Zuko over when the girl cast a grave glance right at him.

"Warn me?" Jin asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"He's not who he says he is," Katara had a fevered look in her eyes as she searched for the best way to break the bad news.

"Well, I figured that Lee was a fake name…" Jin said with an apologetic frown, "there's a million Lees, right?"

"You...know who he is?" Katara's eyes were wide.

"No, but I figured that if he wants to let go of his past then I shouldn't pry," Jin said plainly. _Who is this girl? _she wondered.

"Let go of his...what are you talking about?" Katara couldn't understand what was happening. "That guy has been hunting me and my friends for months!" Katara's voice was rising but she managed to keep it quiet enough to avoid attracting the attention of the other patrons.

"Are you...okay?" Jin's look of concern was genuine, _maybe there's something wrong with this girl…_

"I'm fine," Katara said with a sigh, "it's you I'm worried about. That's Prince Zuko!" Jin gave her a blank look, "Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation?"

"What?" Jin sat down across from Katara. Momo was busy eating the mixed nuts in a bowl on the table between them. "Prince Zuko," she said the name a few times, as if she was trying it on for size.

"He's been in exile with his uncle Iroh," Katara continued, relieved to finally be getting through to the girl, "they must have snuck into the city as refugees to capture the Avatar."

"Capture the Avatar?" Jin looked over her shoulder at Lee. _Zuko, _she corrected herself. "How do you know all this?"

"I've been travelling with the Avatar for the last few months," Katara told her, "and Prince Zuko's been chasing us and trying to capture Aang since we started travelling together."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jin asked, her voice uneven.

"I'm telling you so you can save yourself from whatever scheme they've come up with to capture Aang," Katara told her truthfully, "you and Zuko...you seem close. And I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"What?" Jin blinked back angry tears, "you didn't want me to get hurt? Then why did you tell me all of this?!" Katara blinked in surprise.

"Jin, are you alright?" Zuko's voice got her attention. Katara turned her head and he saw her. His eyes went wide with shock for an instant before he saw Jin, her head in her hands, on the verge of tears. Suddenly it was as if Katara wasn't even there as Zuko rushed to Jin's side and put his arms around her.

"What's wrong?" he asked her softly and Katara found herself believing the concern she heard in his voice.

"Is it true?" Jin asked weakly, "are you really the Prince of the Fire Nation?" Zuko shot Katara a glare that could have melted ice with its intensity before he returned his attention to Jin, his face softening instantly. Zuko sighed deeply before answering and when he spoke he sounded so resigned it gave Katara pause.

"Yes," he said plainly and Jin turned to look up at him. "The banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. Or at least, that's what I thought," he was addressing both of them but his gaze never left Jin's, "lately, I've realised I'm free to determine my own destiny…" he gave Jin a weak smile, "and I meant what I said before, I think that my destiny is here...with you." Jin swallowed and it made Zuko flinch, finally she spoke.

"I believe you," she said calmly, "and I meant what I said before too, whoever you were before you came to Ba Sing Se...you can leave it behind you."

"Zuko…" Katara began, unsure of what it was exactly that she was seeing. Both Jin and Zuko turned to face her. "What's going on here?"

And Zuko told her.

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

It's here! It's 'Crossroads of Destiny' time and that means some drastic changes from canon, so be prepared for that. I think there will probably be at least two more chapters, probably more depending on how fast the story progresses...it has a way of getting away from me sometimes.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was probably the toughest to write so I hope that it came out well! Please let me know what you thought, what you liked, and didn't like :)

**Reviews:**

**bunjeepanda: **Thanks :) I agree that Crossroads is a good stopping point, so now I get to go kind of crazy with how my fic diverges from the canon and how Jin's involvement will change the story!

**ZukoWithHair: **Thank you for the thorough review :) I was thinking of how Zuko would eventually tell Jin about his past but I thought, hey! Katara would probably spill the beans if she had the chance :P

**Anonymous Rex: **Thank you :) I hope Crossroads of Destiny doesn't disappoint! There's still plenty of stuff left to go so stay tuned!


	11. Chapter 11

"So that's it," Zuko finished explaining the events not only the last few days but of the weeks before since he had been on the run from his sister, Azula. Katara sat across the table in stunned silence, her eyes wide with disbelief. Jin just watched him with polite curiosity.

"Wow," Katara began then paused, unsure of how to continue, "so you're…good? Now?" Zuko shifted uncomfortably in his chair under her gaze.

"Um...well...I," he sputtered out before Jin came to his rescue.

"He's _been _good, " she emphasised the word, "ever since I met him." She said it plainly in a way that made Katara believe her.

"I'm sorry," Katara said shyly, "it's just that for so long, whenever I imagined the face of the enemy...it was yours."

"My face," Zuko said quietly, bringing a hand up to touch his scar absently, "I see."

"No!" Katara corrected herself quickly, "that's not what I meant. It's just...you've been chasing us for so long. It's hard to see you as just a normal person."

"He's not just a normal person," Jin said, offering Zuko a warm smile, "he's kind, he's gentle, and he's adorable." That last caused Katara to blush.

"Oh," Zuko's face was on fire, "well…" He stumbled over his words which just made him even more embarrassed. _Huh, _Katara thought to herself, _seeing Zuko like this, it's hard to imagine him as very threatening..._she smirked at the thought causing Jin to raise an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Katara said honestly, "it's just it's funny to see this side of Zuko is all. He's usually so much more…" she searched for the right word, "scary."

"What?" Jin gave Katara a disbelieving look, "him? He couldn't hurt a spider/fly!" she reached out and took his hand, enjoying the feeling of his dry, soft skin on hers. Zuko turned an even darker shade of red as he squirmed uncomfortably under their combined gazes.

"Well I mean I did fight off a half dozen Earth Kingdom soldiers to rescue my uncle…" Zuko offered, trying to regain some semblance of macho toughness in the face of this assault on his character.

"Well, that's different," Jin said lightly, "you were protecting your family…" _She's having fun with this, _Zuko thought miserably.

"Speaking of which, where is Iroh?" Katara asked, looking around for the sage old man and spotting him near the door that led to the kitchen. She waved at him and it caused Iroh's eyes to go wide before he ducked down conspicuously behind a potted plant. Katara actually laughed at that, much to Zuko's chagrin.

"Oh come on," she said jokingly after seeing his disapproving look, "that was kind of funny, right?" Zuko only frowned. Meanwhile Jin got up and retrieved Iroh.

"Hello, young lady," Iroh said sheepishly as he was led over to the table by Jin. He cast a covert glance at Zuko, who returned a defeated shrug. "Have we met?" his smile was nervous and he rubbed the back of his neck involuntarily.

"She knows, uncle," Zuko said with resignation.

"She or she?" Iroh asked, gesturing first to Katara and then to Jin.

"Both." That caused Iroh to frown and let out a small sigh.

"Well, since she hasn't run off to call the guards," Iroh's frown turned into a wide smile, "then I can only assume that she has seen your transformation for herself!" Zuko nodded stiffly. "And since she hasn't run off after giving you a slap in the face," Iroh indicated Jin this time, "I can only assume that she's willing to overlook your past." This time it was Jin who nodded before giving Zuko's hand a firm squeeze.

"I don't care who he was," she told Iroh truthfully, "I only care about who he is now and who he wants to be." Zuko smiled warmly and leaned over to plant a light kiss on Jin's cheek.

"Woah," Katara said dumbstruck, "he really has changed."

"I'll say," Iroh said jovially, "I remember one time when we were travelling on the road to Ba Sing Se and we stopped for a rest at a massage parlor…"

"Uncle!" Zuko almost jumped out of his seat. _Oh great, _he realised too late, _now it sounds like something even worse! _He looked around, both Katara and Jin were staring at him as if he had sprouted wings. "We stole her ostrich horse, I swear that was it!" Jin frowned and Katara's eyes narrowed.

"I thought you were done with your life of villainy?" Katara asked guardedly.

"That was before," Zuko said, sighing with equal parts relief that he had cleared up the very ambiguous words of his uncle and shame at the act of stealing from the family that had helped them in a time of need. "I know it was wrong and uncle tried to talk me out of it but…" Zuko sighed more heavily, "I'll make it up to them, I promise."

"Good," Katara said firmly in a way that told Zuko that he had better keep his word. "Well, if you really are good now, you wouldn't mind apologizing to Aang, Toph, and my brother for being such a jerk before?"

"Yeah," Zuko said, "right. No problem." He looked away nervously, _how am I going to face all of them after what I've done? _He was brought out of his melancholy by Jin, who raised his chin so that he was looking right at her.

"I know it's not easy to face your past," she told him sympathetically, "but if you really are serious about turning over a new leaf, then it's something you'll have to do." She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips before pulling back. "I know you can do it."

"Thanks," he said, his head fuzzy from the show of affection. "Okay," he turned back to Katara, "I'll do it. But I don't want anybody else knowing who we are." He gestured around them at the teashop, "my uncle and I have the chance to make a new life for ourselves here...I don't want my past to mess that up. Okay?"

"Okay," Katara nodded, "I'll keep your secret." Both Zuko and Iroh exhaled with relief. "The others will be back in the city in a few days, we can meet up then."

"Why don't you all come here for tea?" Iroh offered, "it's the least we can do for you. And what's more, being the favorite tea shop of the Avatar has to be good for business."

"What makes you so sure it'll be his favorite?" Katara asked teasingly.

"He's really that good," Zuko said with a shrug, "I don't know how, but the man can make tea like nobody's business." Jin nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright," Katara said, standing up, "I can't believe I'm saying this but...see you later, Zuko, Iroh."

"Leaving so soon?" Jin asked, "why don't you have a cup of tea?"

"Or something to eat?" Iroh added.

"On the house," Zuko said.

"On the house?" Iroh gave Zuko a funny look. "I mean, of course. On the house."

"Well," Katara hummed and hawed, "if you insist." She sat down with a smile. _This is weird, _Katara admitted, _but I could get used to it._

**To be continued…**

**Author's Notes:**

Apologizes for the shorter than usual chapter but I decided that I wanted to have a few different scenes that take place during 'Crossroads of Destiny' even though they would be shorter scenes. So for instance, I wanted a chapter where Katara met Iroh but I didn't want to pad this chapter out so it's shorter than my usual. But that means I get to write more funny scenes, so that's good :)

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it was surprisingly fun to write since I usually have trouble with Katara. Did she come across well? Did you like the chapter? If not, what went wrong? I'd love to hear from you.

**Reviews:**

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thank you for the kind words :) I'm glad you're sad to see that the story is almost over. This was my Iroh meets Katara chapter, next time will be the caves!

**To SkorpionQueen012: **Thanks :) I'm glad to hear from you again.

**To Mr. Tux: **I'm glad you liked the chapter!

**To AnonymousRex: **I'm glad you liked Katara in the last chapter :D I usually have a hard time writing her so I'm glad to hear she came out well.

**To bunjeepanda: **Thank you :) I'm glad you liked Zuko's reaction.


	12. Chapter 12

Zuko was tossed violently down into the crystal cavern that would serve as his prison cell. He rolled to a stop, his face in the dirt, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Zuko?" he looked up to see Katara standing before him, "what happened? How did they catch you?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Zuko said roughly, getting to his feet. "I thought you said you were going to keep my secret...secret."

"I did," Katara leveled a threatening stare at him, as if daring him to question her integrity. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Zuko had the good sense to offer her an apologetic shrug before taking a seat on a convenient crystal formation. Katara came to sit beside him.

"After you left, a man came to the teashop with an invitation," Zuko began, recounting the events of earlier in the day, "he said the Earth King had requested our presence to serve him tea this evening…" Zuko looked around the cave for theatrical effect, "obviously, that was a trap."

"I see," Katara thought for a moment before continuing, "so you saw Azula?" Zuko nodded.

"She's the one who captured me," he told her with no small amount of frustration, "uncle was able to escape though. With any luck, he'll be far from here by now." Katara chuckled softly which caused Zuko to turn to face her.

"You obviously have a lot to learn about being one of the good guys," she said lightly, "if I know your uncle, which to be fair I probably don't, he'll find my friends and Sokka and they'll be mounting a rescue any minute." Katara sat back on the crystal formation.

"Do you really think so?" Zuko asked, failing to mask his surprise. _She's right, _he thought glumly, _I have a lot to learn._

"Yep," Katara said lazily, "all we have to do is wait. That is, unless you can think of a way to get out of this cave without earthbending?" Zuko shook his head and an uncomfortable silence descended on them for a few moments before he spoke up.

"Can I ask you something?" Zuko asked cautiously. _She does look like the type to hold a grudge, _he warned himself, _so I'd better tread lightly. _Katara nodded.

"Do you think the others will forgive me?" he asked it with such resignation that it caused Katara to pause. _Good grief, _she chided herself, _this is Zuko. Zuko! Don't feel sorry for him._

"Well, I can't speak for them…" she trailed off as she noticed his shoulders slump even further. "All I can say is that if you're truly as sorry as you seem, then if not right away then eventually they'll forgive you."

"Thanks," Zuko took a deep breath to steel himself. He wasn't used to asking for forgiveness. _Except from father, _Zuko thought miserably. He sniffed involuntarily.

"Um," Katara was unsure of how to proceed, "are you...okay?" Despite herself, she reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He actually flinched under the gesture.

"Yeah," he said unconvincingly, "just bad memories." Katara would have inquired further, but suddenly the nearby cave wall exploded out. They both leapt to their feet as Aang, Iroh, and Jin all walked through the hole in the wall.

"Aang!" Katara exclaimed, running over to embrace the young Avatar.

"Zuko!" both Iroh and Jin closed the distance between them and Zuko, taking it in turns to hug him with relief.

"Are you okay?" Aang asked, his voice tinged with worry. He cast a suspicious glance over at Zuko who looked away to avoid meeting Aang's eyes.

"I'm fine," she assured him, "you'll never guess who I ran into this morning though." She led Aang over to the others.

"Zuko."

"Aang."

The two enemies exchanged cold greetings and a tension fell over the cave. Aang was about to speak when Zuko held out a hand to forestall him. The gesture caused the young Avatar to duck into a fighting stance on reflex. When no fire came from Zuko's hand, Aang relaxed with embarrassment. Zuko looked to Jin, who offered him her encouragement, before speaking up.

"I'm sorry," he said tersely. Aang's eyes went wide in shock and he turned to Katara with a skeptical look which caused her to raise her eyebrows in her almost motherly way.

"Thanks," the words came out as half a statement and half a question from Aang. His face told Zuko he had questions but he was too polite to voice them.

"For everything," Zuko continued. "I see now that trying to capture you was wrong. I…" Zuko struggled to find the words, "I'm...good now." Aang nearly fainted and he sagged back into Katara's arms as his legs went weak. _What is going on here? _Aang thought with barely suppressed panic, _did I get trapped in another iceberg? Am I hallucinating?_

"Ah," Aang managed to say, regaining his footing. "Good. I'm glad." This time he cast his glance to Iroh, who smiled warmly in response. _Well, _Aang considered, _Iroh is wise…_ he recalled their conversation about the Avatar state on their way here and he blushed almost unnoticeably as he realised who it was exactly that was holding him. _I guess I could give Zuko a chance, _he conceded.

"Zuko, it's time we talked," Iroh spoke up, turning to Aang and Katara, "go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you." Katara and Aang complied, leaving out the same hole they came in through.

"Why, Uncle?" Zuko asked impatiently.

"You're not the man you used to be, Zuko," Iroh said warmly, "You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been." Iroh gestured to Jin, "and now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. Yet, everything has happened so suddenly, I worry that should we face Azula, she might tempt you back down a dark path." Jin moved to interrupt but Zuko stopped her.

"That won't happen," he said with enough sureness to give Iroh pause. "I know what I want."

Suddenly, crystals erupted from the rock below them, capturing Iroh. Zuko took up a fighting stance out of reflex and spun around to see Azula entering the crystal cave, flanked by two Dai Li agents. Zuko tensed, watching his sister come closer until she was standing before him.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," Azula gave the old man a menacing glare as Zuko moved to stand between them, shielding Iroh. "But Zuko, _Prince _Zuko," she let the words sink in for the girl that was with them. _Really, ZuZu? _she thought with disdain, _what would father say if he knew you had gone native?_ "you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"

"Release him immediately," Zuko tensed further, which Azula noticed with a wicked smile.

"It's not too late for you, Zuko," she chimed with false pleasantness, "you can still redeem yourself." Zuko cast a glance at the Earth Kingdom peasant which caused Azula to move over to her, every inch of her body exuding threat. "And who's this?" The girl said nothing. "Let me guess, he's got you convinced that he's some sort of...refugee? That he and his uncle have come to Ba Sing Se to, what? Start a new life?" she said that last with as much false sweetness as she could bring herself to muster. Her agents had been thorough in collecting information about them since discovering they were in the city a few days earlier. The girl was silent, hanging her head, but she could tell by Zuko's face that she was striking a nerve. _He's always been so easy to read, _Azula mused.

"So it must surprise you to learn that he's actually been deceiving you all along?" Azula was enjoying her victory. _Crushing people's hope is so much fun, _she thought giddily. "That he's actually the Prince of the Fire Nation? The very people who have been devastating your country and it's people for a hundred years?" Azula laughed maniacally. "So tell me, how does it feel?" she leaned in close to the girl to gauge her reaction.

"Oh, I already knew," Jin said as calmly as she could, looking up into Azula's golden eyes.

"Wait. What?" Azula managed to say. Then Jin struck. The fist caught Azula across the bridge of her nose, her head reeling back from the flash of white light and the blinding pain. Azula managed to let out a gasp of surprise before the second fist connected and everything went dark.

Azula hit the ground unconscious with a thud and the Dai Li agents watched Jin with stunned silence. They looked at Zuko, whose expression went from abject shock to fierce determination as he turned to face them.

"Release him," Zuko gestured at Iroh, "now." They complied. "Now get lost." Without waiting to recover their commander, the two Dai Li agents took off at a run back the way they had come.

Once they were gone, Zuko strode over to Jin who was rubbing her upper arm self-consciously.

"Listen," she began nervously, "I…" She was interrupted by a deep, passionate kiss from Zuko. She yelped in surprise and it caused Iroh to turn away with embarrassment at their public display of affection. When the kiss ended, Zuko spoke.

"Thank you," he said warmly, "I've always wanted to do that." Jin gave him a look of mock indignation.

"I thought you said you were _good_ now?" she chided but Zuko smiled.

"I'm alright," he said with a shrug and they both laughed good naturedly.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Iroh coughed, getting their attention, "but we should probably go help the others. After we tied her up that is," he gestured to Azula. Zuko nodded, racing up the ramp to the exit of the cave. Fortunately, on one of the walls that lined the cell corridor there were spare handcuffs for transporting prisoners. He grabbed a pair before running back down and cuffing Azula to a large, immovable crystal formation.

"You know," Iroh mused as they left the cave, "if you hadn't been there Jin, I think things might have gone much worse."

**To be concluded…**

**Author's Notes:**

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I've been waiting for this moment for quite a while, you know which one I mean ;) anyways, next chapter will be the last for this story. Good things have to end some time, right? But I must say I will be sad to see it over. However, I'll be starting my next fic in probably a week or two so I have that to look forward to :D I _may_ do a 'Jin joins the Gaang' sequel at a later date but I don't think I'll be writing it right away.

I just wanted to take another opportunity to thank you. All of you. For your continued support and readership. Writing this story (as well as my first fan fic, Six Weeks in Ba Sing Se) has become a very large, very important part of my life and it's been very good for me on a personal level. These fics have been my first real exposure as a writer and it gives me a lot of hope to see that people actually like my writing, my style, and my unique voice. So once again, thank you.

**Reviews:**

**To Suvorov: **Thank you :) I hope this chapter didn't disappoint!

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thanks :D I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and that the humor came across well since it's really difficult to tell if something I write is going to be funny to anybody else besides myself until I get your feedback.

**To ZukoWithHair: **Thanks for the kind words :) I hope Azula's confrontation wasn't too anticlimactic ;) I wanted her defeat to be abrupt and funny rather than cool and dramatic. I hope you understand.

**To Veritas1995: **Thank you for all the reviews :) I'm glad to see you enjoyed my fic enough to read the whole thing through in one day!


	13. Chapter 13

Zuko walked out into the narrow prison corridor. He let out a deep sigh as the Earth Kingdom guards flanking the door earthbent it back into place. Azula was secure and, barring some disaster, she would remain in the palace dungeons until the war was over. Zuko crossed his fingers, it was Azula after all. If anybody could escape the Earth King's dungeon it was her.

Zuko walked along the narrow corridor leading back to the main palace building from the dungeon. He passed Mai and Ty Lee's cells, ignoring them. He made his way into a small dining room where the victors of the attempted coup were having dinner.

"Zuko!" Iroh turned to greet his nephew, picking up a cup of tea and offering it to him, "we were just talking about you." Zuko's raised an eyebrow at that as he looked over the Avatar and his friends seated with Jin. _Great, _he thought ruefully, _they've probably been turning her against me this whole time. _It surprised him then, when they all stood up and made their way over to him.

"Yeah," Sokka spoke up, "and how your totally awesome girlfriend knocked out Azula!" Sokka mimed a few punches in the air, smiling broadly. "Kickapow!" he added with a last exaggerated knockout punch.

"Geez, Sokka," Toph scolded, "where was all this enthusiasm when I took out a whole battalion of the Earth King's guards myself when we broke in here, huh?" She said it with flat sarcasm but Zuko thought he could detect something else..._jealousy? Huh, _he frowned. _These are some weird people._

"Actually, come to think of it," Katara mused, "it was all Jin who stopped Azula...you didn't really do anything." She fixed Zuko with a sarcastic glance which made him bristle.

"Hey!" Zuko fumed, "I helped!"

"Sure you did," Katara gave him an exaggerated wink and Zuko made a sound like a frustrated snarl.

"Yeah," he paused for a moment while he tried desperately to think of something clever to say. When nothing came he blurted out, "I could have betrayed all of you but I didn't! Isn't that worth something?"

"Yeah," Aang said cooly, "because not being a jerk for once is the same thing as being the hero of the day." Zuko shrank with embarrassment.

"It's worth something to me," Jin said warmly, coming over beside Zuko and taking one of his arms under hers. "It means you have changed," she continued, "you had a chance to go back to being who you were before you came to Ba Sing Se and you chose not to." Jin looked down for a moment as her cheeks flushed red, "You chose me."

"Awkward," Sokka coughed. He got a punch from Toph for his troubles that sent him sprawling back into a chair.

"Not the time, meathead," she scolded before offering an apologetic shrug to the couple.

"Of course I did," Zuko told Jin softly, "and now that Azula's been beaten we can have a life here." Jin's eyes went wide with shock before Zuko realised what it sounded like he was saying. "Oh," he stammered out quickly, "no. I meant that my uncle and I can become tea servers…" Jin's face fell instantly, "no! I mean I still want to be your boyfriend, of course!" Zuko groaned loudly. "Agh! I just meant that...I'm here to stay." Jin smiled warmly and despite his poor delivery she couldn't help but feel happy at the sentiment.

Katara made a retching sound, "I don't know what you see in him." This got a laugh from Aang that was tinged with relief that Zuko's awkward charms weren't having any effect on the girl of his dreams.

"He's got plenty of charm," Jin said, taking Zuko in a big hug which he returned. This got a warm laugh from Iroh and a few embarrassed looks from the others as they made their way back to the table.

"So now that you've captured my sister, what are you going to do?" Zuko asked, as he filled a bowl with rice for himself.

"We've got some big plans," Sokka said slyly, "don't you worry."

"Good grief," Toph shook her head as if she was embarrassed by Sokka's antics. "I think we can tell him."

"I don't know," Aang hesitated, "no offense Zuko," he gave him an apologetic look, "but the less people who know about the invasion the better."

"Invasion, eh?" Iroh perked up at this. Aang slapped himself in the forehead for giving away too much already.

It was after dinner and Zuko and Jin were standing out on the balcony of the dining room. The others were still inside, talking about their adventures with Iroh.

"I think we should go with them," Jin said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Zuko wasn't all that surprised. To the uninitiated, trekking halfway across the world on some insane quest probably sounded like a lot of fun. Zuko knew better, after all he had chased Aang and his friends from the south pole to the north.

"Yeah," Jin continued, "they'll need all the help they can get. And after all, who single handedly took down the princess of the Fire Nation?" she gave Zuko a knowing smile. "And turned the prince to the side of good?"

"But what about your life here?" Zuko asked, "What about mine and my uncle's?"

"I think he would be willing to put it on hold if it meant helping the Avatar save the world," Jin said seriously. "Think about it, if we could end the war...if there was even a chance, we should take it."

"I don't know…" Zuko said, slowly conceding that she was right. She walked over to stand right in front of him before reaching out to take his hands in hers.

"Sometimes, you just have to take a risk," Jin smiled up at him, "sometimes it'll surprise you." She leaned up and kissed him deeply before pulling back. Zuko gulped, his cheeks heating up. _I could get used to that,_ he thought dumbly.

"Okay," he began but he was interrupted as the door to the balcony burst open and Aang came running out.

"Azula's escaped!" Aang shouted without ceremony.

"What? How?" Zuko tried to think of some way that she might have gotten away.

"We don't know," Aang said, his usually animated demeanor deflating.

"If we hurry, maybe we can catch her," Zuko said as he and Jin parted.

"Wait, 'we'?" Aang's face visibly paled.

"We're going with you," Zuko said, his face determined, as the three made their way back inside to plan their next move.

**The End.**

**Author's Notes:**

Hi everyone! Sorry the chapter was a day late, I've been sick all week so I haven't been able to write it until now. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed the conclusion. I wanted to leave the story open to continuation so I hope the end doesn't seem too flaky.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your tremendous support and encouragement as I wrote this fic. It was the highlight of my days to come home from work and read the reviews left by all of you :) I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. I also hope you enjoy whatever it is that I write next! :D

**Reviews:**

**To bunjeepanda: **Thank you :) It's been tough posting everything on time but it has been well worth it!

**To Mr. Tux: **I'm glad you enjoyed the story so much :) from the beginning I wanted to take the story in a really different direction from the show because I think that Jin would have had a really big impact on Zuko had they seen each other more.

**To Veritas1995: **So Zuko and Jin have joined the Gaang. I hope you liked the ending :)

**To Anonymous Rex: **Thank you for your kind words and your encouragement throughout the story :) I hope you liked how it ended.

**To ZukoWithHair: **Yeah, Azula's defeat was pretty anti-climatic but I thought it was funnier that way :) also how the Dai Li totally ran for it! I'm glad you've enjoyed each chapter, I write for the readers so it makes me happy to hear that it's been such a fun ride for you :D so Jin is now on Team Avatar along with Zuko!


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